


Enchantress

by Blue_Blossom90



Category: Boyfriend (Band), K-pop
Genre: F/M, Major Original Character(s), Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-17
Updated: 2016-07-23
Packaged: 2018-04-15 04:45:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 18
Words: 30,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4593309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blue_Blossom90/pseuds/Blue_Blossom90
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the young werewolf pack's encounter with the treacherous witch, a mysterious girl arrives. After saving their alpha, Donghyun, from the wretched jinx placed upon him during battle, she offers her knowledge and power to help capture the witch that continues to kill the female members of their extensive pack, their Best Friends. But none of the boys trust her, especially Donghyun. Well, none except Hyungseong, who seems to have a deep, secretive connection to her. With trust to be earned, lives to be saved, and secrets to be revealed, Boyfriend and the mysterious girl must survive their misadventure and stop the Red Witch. Together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Weakened Leader

**Author's Note:**

> Hello~
> 
> This story takes place after the encounter Boyfriend has with the Red Witch in the rooftop of their building. If you haven't watched the MV yet, I suggest you go and watch Boyfriend's (보이프렌드) "WITCH" MV on Youtube. I will be going by their appearance in the MV as much as possible. I'll try to update at a steady pace. Also, this story has an Original Character. It will start off slow, but I plan to eventually add some fighting scenes and a lot of magic is involved. Some parts will be cheesy because I wanted to keep Boyfriend and Best Friends tied together. Everyone please love Boyfriend a lot!
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> [This is a work of fiction. Any similarities to real life and/or other circumstances are purely coincidental.]

Bright white light penetrated the darkness behind his eyelids. His ears perked up, suddenly aware of every minute sound; sounds that still remained unrecognizable to him under the pressing pulses of lingering pain. A touch, too cool to be that of his brothers’, pressed against his cheek. His eyes snapped open, the glaring lights abusing his dilated pupils. A growl ripped through his throat as he bolted up. His leap from the bed landed him in a crouched position before the trespasser.

The lights continued to stab his sensitive eyesight and the pain that ripped through his right arm and shoulder ran down to the base of his ribcage almost made him crumble. He stubbornly held his ground, growling his threats. The intruder took a step back then changed their mind and moved towards him. The sound of their footstep small and light. He blinked furiously, growling heavily. His balance threatened to leave him with each pressing second, the pain on his right side increasing the longer he stood.

“Please—”

The sound of a female voice sparked a lingering rage within him that had not yet fully disappeared. His mind turned to bloodlust. He wanted her dead. He was going to kill her. Viciously.

He would tear at her throat until she could only grasp at life with death lingering just out of reach. He would claw her body, raking the flash away from her bones. He would then gnaw on her until the marrow within her skeleton made him sick. Only after his bloodlust was sated, then and only then, would he allow her to die.

And even that would never be enough.

Fiercely fast and without warning he lurched at her, sharp teeth bared. The girl jumped out of the way, narrowly avoiding a deadly collision. As the werewolf whirled in a renewed attack, the girl rushed toward the door, the only door in the room that was just too far away. He was right behind her, ready to kill her without mercy.

Then, suddenly, she stopped. She shielded her head with both her arms as she dropped into a defensive crouch. He would be upon her in seconds.

“Hyunseong!”

The door was smashed to pieces milliseconds after her desperate cry, his brother flying at him unexpectedly. The shock of seeing one of his own was enough to slow him down. He could have prevented their collision, avoided the violent impact of their bodies, but his surprise only allowed him a brief moment of relief before darkness engulfed him.

 

* * *

 

 

“Hyung…Hyung….”

Donghyun locked onto the sound of Minwoo’s voice and pulled himself out of the darkness that surrounded him. He sat up, alert, with eyes that shifted rapidly despite the assault of the bright light.

“Minwoo-ah.”

“Hyung.”

Minwoo’s shoulders relaxed briefly before tensing up once more as Donghyun’s hands gripped them firmly. The urgency in his eyes multiplied as his chest tightened.

“Hyunseong? Hyunseong-ah?”

“He’s well, hyung, we all are.”

Great waves of relief soothed Donghyun until the pain on his side made him crumple with a whimper. Minwoo quickly offered support, steadying him as best as he could while he convulsed. Donghyun noticed that Minwoo had bandages around his wrists and a few stitches along his left temple.

“Hyung, you need to lay down. You’re badly injured and the spell won’t take effect unless you stay still.”

Sharp eyes made the youngest pack member freeze. He gulped heavily, pursing his lips lightly. The alpha’s glare could be deadly, but Minwoo met it with his own steady gaze.

“What spell?”

For a long time Minwoo remained silent. As the silence stretched, Donghyun’s rage began to build up inexplicably. Slowly, the memories of the past few nights returned. The murders, the ambush, the fight, the _witch_.

A wrath-filled growl rippled through his chest. Minwoo shifted his weight and placed two firm hands on his alpha’s shoulders.

“Hyung, you need to calm down.”

“Where is she? Where is that _witch_?”

“There’s no witch here, hyung.”

“I _saw_ her.”

“Hyung—”

“Don’t you lie to me, No Minwoo! I saw that wench in here. I saw—” he paused as the force of a new memory coupled with the pain made his balance falter.

“Hyunseong…”

Minwoo began to feel uneasy with the manner in which Donghyun’s moods began shifting. He pressed down on his shoulders, attempting to settle him on the bed. He couldn’t get through to him no matter how much he continued to reassure him. In the end, Minwoo felt the need to call for help.

“Hyung! Jeongmin-hyung!

The third eldest of the pack appeared quickly. His hair was disheveled and a loose bandage dangled from his right forearm, trailing behind him as he ran into the room.

“Minwoo-ah, what’s wrong?”

“I think Donghyun-hyung is going into shock.”

For half an hour they both tried to get their leader out of the whirl of volatile emotions. His unpredictable state was dangerous, too many things could go wrong. They attempted to hold him down, keep him from bolting out of the room in his half-shifted form, then they had to coax him out of the fetal position in which he would spontaneously curl into in the middle of a tirade.

“Yah! What the hell is going on?”

“Hyung, I should go get—”

“There will be no need for that, Minwoo-ssi,” said a girl as she entered the room. “I knew this would happen.”

Her eyes were distant, her voice had a ghostly intonation. They knew she was not entirely present, her mind detached from the moment. The glowing blue aura that surrounded her hands made them step away as she approached.

“Now,” she whispered to Donghyun. “Let’s fix you up.”

 

* * *

 

 

Hyunseong followed close beside her, his hand on her shoulder for support, a slight limp in his step. There was a bandage tightly bound around his left shoulder and arm, a dark spot of old blood was slowly being surrounded by a fresher coat. He looked exhausted, his expression drawn. His eyes possessed a great sadness with only the smallest trace of a lingering wrath.

The young woman he escorted appeared as exhausted as the wolf-man if not more so. Her long, soft brown hair was pulled into a braid that was coming undone. Her smooth skin, usually of a gentle brown shade, possessed a ghastly pale hue. The dress she wore, a pretty gentle blue when she had first arrived, was coated with fresh and drying blood.

 


	2. Waiting

Late into the night, when the full moon began its decent and the clouds, heavy with accumulated and unshed rain, glided sluggishly across the dark sky, the youngest members of the pack gathered in the common room. Their unease had not decreased in the slightest, instead they found their confusion escalating.

The twins, Youngmin and Kwangmin, sat close to the fireplace, their hands clumsily piling up the firewood. A thin splinter dug itself into Kwangmin’s palm. He looked at it, not really comprehending the reason why a thin piece of wood protruded from his skin. Youngmin watched his younger brother stare at the splinter. When it became obvious that he would not move, Youngmin reached over and pinched it out. Their eyes met briefly before they proceeded with their task.

“Hyung?”

“What is it, Kwangmin-ah?”

“Do you think Donghyun-hyungnim’s hands were hurt by splinters too?”

“…Yeah.”

“Oh.”

Thoughts of their eldest brother plagued their minds as they tried to light the fire. They’d often seen Donghyun undertake the task, but they had never given much thought to it as they did now. As their stomachs grumbled, they made to call Hyunseong. The name froze on their lips, leaving a bitter taste.

Youngmin gnawed on his lower lip viciously, feeling hot tears push their way to the brim of his eyelids. Kwangmin looked at his older brother, his older half, with compassionate eyes. He poked at the charred logs, turned them over, hoping that they would soon catch fire so that his brother may feel a little sense of accomplishment.

“We should not have held back.”

“Hyung,” Kwangmin made to stop him.

“No, Kwangmin-ah! You and I held back even after we saw what she had done to Hyunseong-hyung! After all those death reports, knowing that she was the one responsible for the trail of corpses, we should have not held back! We should have killed her! Why didn’t we kill her?”

Kwangmin swallowed, his throat burning with pasty saliva. “I—I don’t know, hyung.”

Youngmin’s hands caught his head as he doubled over to weep angrily. The feeling of loss and fear heavily weighing down on him. Kwangmin continued to poke at the logs, his hand on his brother’s shoulder. If Youngmin’s shoulders had not already been violently shaking, he would have realized that Kwangmin’s hand trembled just as viciously.

When a door shut suddenly, the twins jumped. Youngmin hurriedly wiped his tears and snot away with his arm. Kwangmin jumped to his feet and rushed to meet a worn out Minwoo.

“Minwoo-ah.”

“Mm? Oh, hyung.”

“Minwoo-ah, what’s going on?”

“Donghyun-hyun was jinxed pretty badly. She’s trying to counter the spell, but it looks like the original was modified. I don’t know, she didn’t make much sense.”

“None of this makes sense. Spells? Witches? Murder? How is this supposed to make any sense at all?”

Minwoo looked into the tear filled eyes of his hyung; they were clouded with savage grief.

“It isn’t, hyung,” he finally managed to say.


	3. Emma

Emma sunk the bloodied towel into a bowl of warm water, watching as it became red. She felt the exhaustion etch itself in her muscles; a headache pounded within her skull. The world spun, she leaned on the small wooden table for support.

With a forced effort, Emma straightened herself then proceeded to clean the wounds in Donghyun and Hyunseong’s bodies. She used the warm cloth on Hyunseong and worked detailed spells over Donghyun’s marble white skin. She was aware of Jeongmin watching her; his eyes followed her every move.

“You’re suspicious of me.”

“You’re a witch.”

“I am not a witch.”

He raised a single eyebrow, giving his head a sharp nudge in the direction of her work. “It sure looks as if you are.”

Sighing, Emma moved away from Donghyun. She placed a hand on Hyunseong’s forehead and scooped up his calloused hand in her other. She ran a weary thumb against his skin, deciding that her obligation was only to him.

“Witches are made,” she said, picking up the almost lost thread of their exchange. “I was born.”

“What?”

But Emma did not deem him worthy of further explanation. Giving Hyunseong’s hand a gentle kiss, she spread her palm on his chest, and, with the last of her energy, performed on Hyunseong what she would not perform on Donghyun.

The burst of bright sky blue light startled Jeongmin into action. He growled, lurched himself at the girl, forcefully thrusting her across the room. Emma crashed against the wall. She imagined the bones breaking inside her body as the pain erupted. She crumbled to the floor, her hair sprawled everywhere, her limbs twisted underneath her. She had enough strength to pull herself up, but the wooden floorboards were suddenly very comfortable and welcoming. After so much work, it was wonderful to be off her feet. The pain was nothing compared to the relief of finally laying down.

Someone brushed her hair out of her face and a broad shouldered figure obscured the majority of the light that would have otherwise annoyed her.

“Noona! Noona!”

“Oh! Hyunnie!” Emma smiled up at the wolf boy, forcing her mind into focus. She combed her fingers through his messy bangs then wiped the beads of sweat from his temples.

“Noona.”

Emma wanted to scold him for the kind of friends he had made, to tell him he should come home every once in a while, to tell him he had grown up well, most of all, she wanted to let him know she had really, truly missed him.

She blinked slowly, feeling extreme exhaustion. Hyunseong continued to smooth out her tangled hair, drawing her closer to his warm embrace. She settled her head against his chest, yawning deeply.

In the end, all she managed to say before she fell into a deep sleep was “I’m so sleepy, Hyunnie.”


	4. Relations

After Hyunseong made sure Emma was safely and comfortably tucked in bed, he closed to door to his room and went to join the rest of his pack in the living room. A suffocating atmosphere settled among them. Everyone’s eyes focused on him, expectant.

“Hyung,” Youngmin began, “who is she?”

Though Hyunseong’s body was completely healed and he felt better than he had ever felt in months, he was exhausted. He noted the chill of the room, the lack of fire in the fire place. The cold never really bothered any of them, not with their naturally high body temperatures, but Donghyun had always insisted on keeping up with appearances. He tossed a log into the already messy pile; the rough collision ignited a fire that quickly warmed the room. Hyunseong stared at the flames, his mind racing with a million thoughts while still remaining blank.

“Hyung,” Minwoo called. “Who is she?”

Sighing Hyunseong turned to face his younger brothers. Youngmin’s eyes were still damp with tears. Kwangmin’s hands shook restlessly. Minwoo’s brows were drawn together tightly in worry. Jeongmin’s usually pleasant, prettily handsome face scrunched up in a fierce frown. Hyunseong looked at each in turn then lowered himself onto the sofa, forgetting how uncomfortable it had once been.

“She’s not a witch.”

Jeongmin growled. “Then _what_ is she?”

Hyunseong felt the word run up his throat before gluing his tongue to the roof of his mouth. He swallowed hard, but it wasn’t until he swore to himself that he would not reveal her identity that he was able to speak once again.

 “She’s not a witch.”

Jeongmin kicked an ottoman over, startling the twins. Minwoo regarded the two with careful, calculating eyes. He sat beside Hyunseong, feeling how helpless Hyunseong’s posture had become.

“Hyung, if she’s not a witch, how can she use magic?”

Hyunseong struggled against the oath that bound him into silence. He looked at Minwoo pleadingly, willing him to understand that he could not reveal anything to them despite how much he wanted to.

“Because she’s a witch!” Jeongmin said.

Hyunseong jumped to his feet. “If she was a witch, we would all be dead by now!”

Minwoo blinked rapidly, placing both hands around Hyunseong’s forearm he coaxed him back into seating. He shot Jeongmin a warning look as he attempted to find a way to find out what Hyunseong knew.

“Hyung,” Minwoo tried again, “do you trust her?”

“With my life,” Hyunseong replied.

“Do you know her? Personally?”

“Yes.”

“Is she your older sister?”

“No.”

“But she’s someone close? A noona?”

“Yes.”

Minwoo nodded, understanding. “Are you under a spell, one to keep you silent?”

“Not a spell,” Hyunseong swallowed, the words seeping through his throat painfully.

“An oath!” Kwangmin cried from across the room.

Hyunseong smiled at him approvingly. Youngmin’s interest was piqued. He neared them curious to see just how much information they could attain. Suddenly, it became a small game, one that relieved them of fear’s tight grip, loosened by momentary smiles of approval and encouragement.

“How long have you known her?” Youngmin said, taking his turn.

“All my life.”

“Your supernatural life or your human life?” Kwangmin jumped onto the sofa’s armrest, eyes eager.

“Both.”

“Eey! Then she’s not a noona, she’s a gradma! A grandmai!”

Hyunseong smacked the back of Kwangmin’s head. “You wanna die?"

Youngmin’s eyes widened. “Is she your girlfriend?”

He received the same answer as his younger self. Minwoo couldn’t contain his laugh though he stifled it by hiding it behind his hand. Jeongmin also tried to hide his laughing bark by disguising it as a cough.

“Aish, hyungnim!” Kwangmin rubbed his sore head. “If she’s been around for that long then she is a grandma.”

Hyunseong raised his hand in warning. Kwangmin yelped, jumping far from his reach. They all laughed lightheartedly at the exchange, the gloom lifting considerably. Hyunseong smiled at the dongsaeng line gratefully, feeling their support.

Jeongmin seated himself on the armchair, crossing his leg, aesthetically placing his chin on the back of his hand, a slight upward tilt to his head. “What’s her name?”

“Emma,” Hyunseong answered. He was glad Jeongmin’s foul mood had been lifted by the twins’ antics.

“She has a temper,” he observed.

Hyunseong nodded in affirmation, losing himself in the memories of the girl that rested in his room. He knew he should be angry at Jeongmin, but given the circumstances he understood why he had reacted the way he had. If it had been anyone else, Hyunseong would have done the same, perhaps even worse if he had been truly angered.

“When she wakes up,” said Minwoo, “we can ask her who she is. Jeongmin-hyung, try to be patient and nice to her.”

Jeongmin had begun to show feign disinterest, but the façade quickly fell as he noticed the color drain from Hyunseong’s face. “Hyung?”

“If she wakes up.” His voice was small, almost inaudible even to their powerful ears. Every word dripped with fear and nervousness.

Jeongmin leaned toward him, suddenly worried. “Why wouldn’t she?”

Hyunseong looked at them each in turn before focusing his eyes on his hands. “She healed me.”

There was a pause.

“Yes, we can see that.”

“No. You don’t understand. She healed me. All of me. Everything.”

Jeongmin frowned. “Hyung—”

But Hyunseong cut him off by suddenly stripping himself of his shirt. Jeongmin’s frowned only deepened until he realized what he was looking at. Hyunseong’s body had been rippled with scars, old and new, decorated with the countless years of his life as a werewolf, yet it now proved to be smooth, as smooth as a newborn’s skin. Minwoo pushed him forward, searching for the scars on his back, finding nothing.

They stared in awe.

“She healed me.” Hyunseong said again in that small voice. “Every ligament is perfectly healthy, every scar gone, even the crookedness of my fingers…”

He looked as his hands, his expression troubled. They looked foreign to him. His fingers had been broken more than thrice, each and every single one of them. They’d healed just fine, but had retained a slight crookedness that reminded him of the struggles, all the fights.

This time, it was Youngmin who understood first. “She was not supposed to.”

Hyunseong slipped his shirt back on, tugging at it, his emotions confused. “No, she wasn’t.”

They all looked in the direction of the room in which she rested, wondering if she would emerge from inside. Slowly, they looked away and in the direction of the long hallway opposite, towards the room that lay at the end, silent and still.

None of them said it, but they all thought the same thing: If she had such power within her, she should have healed Donghyun instead.


	5. Dawn

Emma awoke slowly. She found herself in a soft, comfortable full-sized bed surrounded by fluffy pillows and covered by warm blankets that smelled of man. The scent prickled her nose, familiar, friendly. She was not disoriented; she knew exactly where she was and why. What she didn’t know was how long she had been asleep.

Carefully, quietly, Emma wound, tightened her aura around herself, concealing her scent, her beating heart, her entire presence from the young pack of wolf-men. Feeling well-rested and confident, she sat up.

The room had no windows, the walls were covered with old announcement posters displaying the time and date of old bands’ performances. The bright lamp on the bedside table provided the only light. In a corner opposite the bed, there was a desk, a stack of notebooks piled up on the surface. Surrounding the desk were carefully assembled shelves filled with books and worn journals. A guitar had been placed beside a keyboard, both displaying signs of constant use.

Emma’s curiosity was aroused. She swung her legs over the edge of the mattress, blinking at the sight of baggy sweatpants covering her legs. Taking a moment to inspect herself, she found that she had been changed into men’s clothing, her blue dress—undoubtedly now tattered and bloodied—had been removed and replaced by said sweat pants and a black tee.

She smiled. “Hyunnie.”

The soft snort of a canine drew her attention to the end of the bed. There, Hyunseong slept soundly in his wolf form. She inhaled sharply, her breath catching in awe of his dark coat. She had always known that Hyunseong had possessed one of the most beautiful pelts, but its beauty had dimmed in the chambers of her memory. It was darker than black and would shimmer in a thousand shades of amethyst as light reflected off of it. She longed to touch it, the fur that was softer than silk.

Biting her lip, Emma shook her head, refocusing on the room. She had not seen Hyunseong in decades, while she may still think of him as a close dongsaeng, he may no longer see her as his noona. Silently, she lowered herself from the bed, the black socks on her feet keeping the chill of the stone floor away.

The wall alongside the bed was interrupted by two doors. One of them, slightly ajar, revealed the tiled floor of a bathroom beyond. The other sparked her curiosity. With light feet, she made her way to it, careful not to awaken the sleeping wolf. She knew the entrance to the room was across from where she stood, so this door was something else. She wondered what kind of dirty little secrets she might find inside, something she could tease Hyunseong with later.

Eagerly, she pushed the door open. A light flickered on as she crossed the threshold, revealing a closet full of nothing but clothes. Her shoulders slumped, feeling disappointed at how anticlimactic the revelation had turned out to be, until she realized that every item within was of an expensive brand.

The items were organized by season, the shoes in racks along the floor, polished and cared for. At the end of the walk-in closet there was a tall dresser, its smooth wood coated by stickers of television shows, bands, quotes, and the like. The clothes that were not hung rested on the top shelves in tidy columns. In a neat pile, she found her bags, the blue dress she had loved so much folded despite the blood stains and tears.

She raised it to eye level, inspecting the damage. Dirt, blood, tears, loose threads.

Emma gasped. If her dress had been in such a horrid condition, in what state had she been parading around among the young pack?

She rushed to the bathroom, the light flickering on as soon as she walked in. Groaning, she hid her face behind her hands after catching sight of her reflection.

Her hair was a tangled mess, her face was swollen with sleep, her eyes puffy. Upon further inspection, she found dirt and blood encrusted in her nails, along with several other traces of grime on her body. Appalled, she shut the door and began the long, arduous process of grooming herself.

She scrubbed every inch of herself thoroughly in the vast shower, shampooing her hair thrice. It wasn’t until the water had long turned cold and she felt satisfied that she stepped out. Wrapping herself in a large towel, she sighed at her stupidity.

She’d left her bags in the closet.

She cracked the door open, peeking. Hyunseong still slept soundly on the bed, his head resting on his paws. She managed to make it into the closet and back to the bathroom without incident. Sneaking around with little, insignificant missions like these always gave her a thrill and a sense of satisfaction.

Emma dug around her bag until she found a tunic-like white blouse and black jeans. She frowned at the wrinkles on her blouse; a blink later they were gone.

“Much better.”

She dressed with a smile, tucking in the front of the blouse, buttoning the cuffs tightly around her wrists. She spotted a hair dryer on the surface of the marble counter. Hyunseong would wake up if she used it, so she ran her fingers through her hair, feeling as the water instantly evaporated and every strand became dry and smooth. As it was costmary, she French braided her long hair and tied it securely with a sky blue ribbon, tossing the long braid over her shoulder.

Once she felt clean enough, she proceeded to put on her boots, lacing them up with care. Her mother had always taught her that their journey could only be walked by the strong willed; tying her shoes at the end always provided her with the encouragement that she needed, the final affirmation that she was ready to face what lay ahead.

She packed her belongings neatly, zipping up the bag with ease. After hanging up the towel to dry and tossing the borrowed clothes into the laundry basket she had found strategically placed in a cabinet, she exited the bathroom.

It didn’t surprise her to find Hyunseong still sleeping. She smiled at him fondly, feeling slightly wishful and reminiscent of old times. She placed her bags in the closet once more then made her way out.

Emma felt exposed in the dimly lit hallway. The stone walls seemed to be too close, the air too cold. To her left, there was the soft sound of a burning fire. If she focused, she could also hear the sound of a leak somewhere in the building and the soft breathing of sleeping wolves. To her right, there was nothing except the dimness of the lights along the walls leading to dark door.

Emma approached it with care, wanting to ignore the entire situation, to simply leave them to their own devices. The only reason that she remained with the pack, had even helped them to begin with, was for her affection towards Hyunseong. She knew what his pack meant to him, what his alpha meant to them all, and it was this knowledge that prevented her from leaving.

The young woman decided she would heal their alpha and then continue on her way. She did not have time to spare on making friendships. She had a witch to hunt, to kill. Balance had to be restored.

As she turned the knob, Emma ignored the sudden rush of nervousness and fear that gripped her chest. Her last encounter with their leader had not been pleasant. She told herself she would be alright, that he was too weak and deeply under a sleep charm. He would not awaken until she had undone the last of the hex’s threads. He would not attack her. He wouldn’t.

Would he?


	6. Emergence

The wolf man lay eerily still. His breathing so shallow the rise and fall of his chest was unperceivable. He appeared lifeless; a beautiful, marble skinned, silky white-blonde haired corpse. His stillness, coupled by the shield of sky blue light visible only to the young woman, unnerved her.

Forcing the fear down, Emma reassured herself that the alpha still lived with the presence of the shield. If he were dead, the shield would have disappeared; it would never heal corpses. She approached him, comforted by the invisibility she had cloaked herself in.

Delicately, she touched her fingertips to the gentle blue glow. The light stretched, awakening, rushing to meet her. It molded itself to her hand, a glove that fit perfectly. She welcomed the energy, feeling a surge of power. Emma glanced at the man’s sleeping face.

She found it strange, a young, handsome complexion that appeared to be old, plagued by worries and concerns even while sleeping. Inexplicably, Emma wished to meet with him in the land of his dreams. She wanted to know what kind of place his mind was. If there was darkness in it, she wished to lift it. If there was sadness, she wished to comfort him. If there was light, she wished to bask in it. Somehow, for some reason, she wished to know. She was curious.

The blue glow intensified suddenly, drawing her attention to the task at hand. For how long she stared at his face, Emma would never be able to remember.

She began her work, locating the areas of the hex’s highest concentration. A condescending smile slowly spread itself across her lips. Previously, she had found the hex perplexing, morphed, but Emma now saw that it had been so due to the height and depth of her exhaustion. A scoff escaped her; she could not help the roll of her eyes.

That girl had always been stupid, why had Emma ever expected a challenge? Foolishness or the thirst for adventure, perhaps. Whatever the case might have been, Emma now knew the extent of the wench’s so called powers.

A stupid girl had messed with the wrong clan and become a witch. Now she had messed with the wrong pack. It all proved one thing to Emma: a stupid girl had become stupider as a witch.

 

* * *

 

 

Donghyun emerged from a dream of evergreens, vast and ancient, unending meadows of flourishing flowers that made him sneeze, crystalline bodies of water, meandering rivers and deep lakes. The sky had been bluer than blue, gentle, filled with fat clouds that glided lazily by.

He had never had such bright, powerful dreams before. He blinked up at his ceiling in confusion. He lay there for a moment, examining his emotions. There was a raging anger latched onto his chest, coated by a thin layer of rest and practiced calm. It had been decades since such vicious wrath had dwelled within him. Donghyun inhaled and exhaled, drawing on centuries of learned patience.

The wrath remained, as did the bloodlust and need for revenge, but he was in control of his self. His bare feet touched the chill of stone as he swung himself out of bed. He caught a brief glimpse of his reflection in the body mirror that resided in a corner of his room; his hair lay flat on his head, devoid of any volume, he was a mess in flannel pajama bottoms and a V-necked old white tee.

Any other day, Donghyun would have groomed himself to perfection, but he wanted to see his dongsaengs more than care for his appearance. He wanted to make sure that they were well, wanted to see them smile brightly at him when he walked in the room. Most of all, he wanted to see Hyunseong.

He remembered seeing him, remembered him bursting through his door, alive, well, but the memory was foggy, far off. As he approached his door, he paused. It was no longer the old, worn door from before. It was brand new, a polished, black door with a bronze knob.

Gulping, Donghyun swallowed the worry that crawled up his throat. If Hyunseong had indeed burst through, that meant that there was a girl somewhere within his home. He yanked the door open, rushing out in search of the intruder.

He skidded to a stop when he reached the common area; his pack lay there, profoundly asleep in their wolf forms. Minwoo rested by the fireplace. The twins lay close together, both impossibly identical in their chestnut pelts. Jeongmin had fallen asleep with his head over one of the twin’s body.

Where was Hyunseong?

Turning on his heels, Donghyun retraced his steps until he reached Hyunseong’s room. Without bothering to knock, he pushed the door open, finding the black shape of his younger brother sprawled across his bed. The relief that spread itself across Donghyun’s chest hurt.

He leaned down, placing his nose close to Hyunseong’s snout, stroking the crown of his head with steady fingers. The instant his fingertips made contact with the black, amethyst shimmering pelt, Hyunseong’s eyes snapped opened. His alpha’s astounding, deep sapphire eyes were the first sight he witnessed as he awakened from his slumber.

Down the hall, the sounds of a rousing living area reached Donghyun’s ears. In seconds, the room was swarmed by the other four. They yelped in excitement, prancing around their eldest brother, their alpha. Kwnagmin jumped on Donghyun’s back, licking his face. The leader knew it was the four-dimensional twin because of his icy blue eyes. The identical half was jumping around Hyunseong, his honey eyes moist with emotion.

Minwoo was the first to shift back to his human form, his honey irises replaced by dark brown. He shoved Kwangmin off Donghyun and helped his hyung raise to his feet.

“Hyung!”

Donghyun smiled tenderly, a smile reserved only for Minwoo, as he ruffled the youngster’s hair. Hyunseong jumped, shifting in midair, landing on his feet without so much as a whisper.

“Donghyun-hyung,” he gasped.

The breathlessness in him gave Donghyun pause. He looked at the young wolf, sensing his swirling unease. The other three shifted, but they were no longer teeming with excitement. They watched as the two hyungs stared at one another.

“Shim Hyunseong,” Donghyun frowned. “What are you hiding?”

“Hyung, you—that is…”

Hyunseong had always been the most reserved, the one that turned shy the quickest amongst them. It had taken him decades to act naturally among them. He had not walked on eggshells around Donghyun in a long time, now he was even having difficulty expressing his thoughts.

The alpha’s eyes narrowed, his lip curling back in a warning snarl. “Hyunseong.”

“Shim Hyunseong is not hiding anything,” a voice said from the door’s threshold. “He’s just trying to express his relief at seeing you alive.”

It hit Donghyun suddenly. It was a voice blue as the sky, fluffy as lazy, gliding clouds, with a hint of the meandering currents of rivers. He turned in its direction.

A young woman leaned against the frame of the entrance. Her skin smooth, a gentle shade of brown, radiating with a dash of sunlight. Her soft brown hair draped over her shoulder in a perfect braid, its tips reaching her waist, the blue ribbon securing it as bright as the gleam in her dark eyes. Her left ear was heavily pierced while the right only possessed two lone earrings. Her frame could not have been more than 153 centimeters (5’0’’), yet it stood as tall as it could, shoulders straight, head held high.

Her blouse was free of wrinkles, perfectly tucked in the front and loose behind, flowing down to her thighs. Her black boots were immaculately laced, lending her no height whatsoever. Her lips held no smile, not even the ghost of a previous one, but where full and sharply shaped. Her features were soft, but determined, hardened by lessons, experiences that she would not share.

Donghyun’s eyes had been so busy assessing her, attempting to gauge her as a threat that they had passed over hers without making direct contact. Now, as they narrowed in on them, something exploded within him.

Strange emotions stampeded across his chest. A dam within him had ruptured. His life threads, so carefully embroidered and stitched, were undone, detached and reattached in different patterns, changing the intensity of the world’s colors, the scents.

Nothing else mattered; everything dwarfed in the magnitude of his emotions.

It shocked him, unbalanced him. In the face of such unfamiliar, powerful emotions, Donghyun resorted to a tactic he had not turned to in centuries. He took all the nameless, potent feelings and locked them deeply within himself, reconstructing the dam that had broken, using familiar emotions to patch it up, to seal it. He latched onto two emotions, the very first that surfaced among the sea of unfamiliarity. First came suspicion, which he used to pull up the walls of the dam surrounding his heart.

Then came mistrust, which was used to seal them all in. So tightly did Donghyun pack and layer mistrust over the walls that he would later wonder if there had been any other emotion _but_ mistrust between he and the female stranger.

As he stood looking into her deep, brown eyes, he wondered how he could ever trust someone that made him feel so uneasy.

He couldn’t.

He _wouldn’t_.


	7. Ancients

Emma found herself waiting in the largest room of the pack’s den. The chamber, of course, belonged to none other than Donghyun.

The bed remained unmade, the sheets in a pile to the side, the pillows still held the imprint of the wolf-man’s head. Bright lights had been lit, hurting Emma’s eyes which had quickly adjusted themselves to the dim lighting of the place. Bookshelves lined the walls, journals and books tightly squeezed together. The layout was similar to Hyunseong’s room with two doors that Emma suspected lead to an even larger closet and bathroom. It was an unremarkable room save for the many framed photographs that rested atop the shelves and the grand piano centered on a luscious, expensive-looking rug.

The young woman inspected the photographs with care, curiously. In several the twins posed together with Minwoo. Emma was amazed at their similarity, if it weren’t for the different dyes in their hair she would be unable to tell them apart. However, when upon closer inspection she found one of the twins’ eyes always gleamed with mischievousness while the other half’s swam in genuine kindness and sentimentality. Minwoo was the youngest, she had heard, but she could see the deep calm, the reasonable mind, perpetually settled in his brown eyes.

Jeongmin’s photographs were astounding. It seemed that he was never caught unaware, his face and smiles were perfectly angled in regards to the camera. Emma smiled at his vanity, finding it somewhat charming. In one particular photograph, she found Jeongmin sitting in a large carpet of green grass, the spring trees behind him, a guitar resting on his lap.

When she came upon Hyunseong’s photographs, her smile broadened. He’d grown up handsomely, but she had always known that he would. What warmed her heart the most was how all his smiles, his gaze, his postures retained the gentle shyness that had always belong to him. It was his trademark characteristic; a gentle shyness that kindled gentle love. She wondered why he had never sent any pictures and made up her mind to ask him for a copy of everything the next chance she got.

On the other hand, Donghyun’s photographs always seemed a little too close, as if the other boys had had to get near and catch him unawares before they could capture anything. Among the images of his pale skin, bright sapphire eyes, she found one that made a tingle run down her spine. Perhaps it had been taken years before, when his hair had not been blonde but dark brown; he wore a red and black checkered shirt, his expression somewhat startled and gentle.

In another, he was with Minwoo. It was obvious that Minwoo had taken this photograph, for his arms were outstretched before him. Donghyun had his arms wrapped around his dongsaeng’s shoulders, his smile natural as he looked into the camera. Emma supposed that Minwoo had aimed to take the photograph without informing Donghyun beforehand because his own bright, cheerful grin was missing, replaced instead by a hasty smile that appeared to have settled in just in time for the picture to be taken.  

There were many photographs of Donghyun, but the ones in which he wasn’t with one of the members of his pack always retained that startled, caught-unawares expression.

Emma found a framed memory in which the entire pack sat together in a common restaurant with heaps of meat cooking in the grills. Their cups were filled with a clear liquid that she figured to be alcohol. The boys all smiled at the camera with genuine happiness. Emma had never seen such happiness before.

Among the intimate moments of the young pack were images of strangers. In some pictures, the pack was nowhere to be seen. Instead, large groups of girls huddled together, making V-signs at the camera; the groups of boys stood in relaxed postures, content smiles on their faces and an air of achievement around them. Sometimes, the pack was found among the larger groups, their grins wide, almost silly.

“Ah!” Emma thumped her hand with her fist; she was looking at their extended pack!

She had not expected the sentimental array of accumulated photographs, of a life’s memories. She decided that cold, chic-looking Donghyun was not as distant or mean as he appeared to be.

Moving away from the frames, she walked over to the grand piano, sitting before it with an erect back, a familiar posture. The keys felt smooth, yet worn, under her fingertips. The urge to play welled within her. Before she could strike a single note, Hyunseong’s hand gently prevented the creation of music.

The warning in his eyes drew Emma away from the instrument with a heavy heart. She turned away from the ivory keys just as Donghyun entered the room.

Emma looked behind him with a smile. “Where are the kids?”

The slam of the door and a scowl were all she received for an answer. Blinking, the young woman realized that the warmhearted man that had taken so many photographs of his brothers was not the one that stood before her.

Intense sapphire eyes were alight with mistrust, anger. A wretched feeling squeezed her insides, compressing her heart until it hurt. The way he looked at her made her feel wronged; she decided she did not like it, that she would not take it.

Crossing her arms over her chest, she tilted her head, her braid falling off her shoulder to dangle behind her back. She met his eyes with narrowed ones.

“Let’s not beat around the bush,” she said.

Donghyun lost no time. “Who are you?”

“Emma Vann of Clan Vogel.”

Hyunseong turn to her. “Noona!”

Both Donghyun and Emma dismissed his cry, focusing on one another relentlessly. There was something about Donghyun that suddenly appeared too familiar, something in his aura, the manner in which he carried himself that made Emma’s instincts buzz.

"What are you?"

"In the common tongue, a sorceress."

Clapping a hand to her mouth, Emma stared in absolute shock. Her eyes met Hyunseong's; his expression a reflection of hers.

"Noona," he stammered. "W-what are you doing?"

"Answering..." Emma looked to the floor, her mind reeling. "Answering his questions."

Donghyun leaned against one of the bookshelves, his legs crossed at the ankles before him, his arms drawn tightly across his chest. "A daughter of Clan Vogel?"

"Yes."

The information flew from the girl’s lips before she had a chance to consider. She jumped to her feet, rushing at Donghyun. Hyunseong just only stopped her.

“What dark arts are you commanding? What stolen power are you bending to do your bidding?”

“Noona!”

Donghyun’s eyebrow disappeared underneath his bangs. It was then that Emma saw it, it was then she realized just who Donghyun was.

Later, she would tell herself that it had been his demeanor, the way in which he had drawn the answers from her effortlessly, information that she had zealously protected in the tradition of Clan Vogel, when it had been his eyes. His sapphire orbs had blackened, nearing complete darkness; the difference in their size, the left possessing a more definite slant while the right arched wider. It was that contrast of sharp temperament and wonder that allowed her to recognize him.

Her body went limp in Hyunseong’s arms. He looked at her with preoccupation. Things always became so volatile when his alpha and noona where in the same room together. He thought of calling Minwoo; he was the only one that could coax Donghyun-hyung to act rationally in certain situations.

“Hyunnie,” Emma drew him from his thoughts. “It’s best if you wait with the rest.”

“What?”

“He shall remain here,” said Donghyun.

“Shall he, young master?”

The blonde wolf-man jumped to his feet, his hands clenched in tight fists.

“Young master?”

“Hyunseong-ah, wait with your brothers.”

“Hyung—”

“Wait with your brothers.”

Hyunseong had no other choice. He looked at Emma, stroking her cheek affectionately, telling her that he would be a call away if she needed him with that single touch. He looked over his shoulder once before finally exiting the room.

“You’re not just a member of House of Vogel,” said Donghyun.

“Nor are you just a werewolf,” retorted Emma.

“I most certainly am not.”

“You most certainly are a grand creature, young master.”

A frown appeared on his face; a mocking smile on hers.

“Who are you?” he repeated.

“Emma Vann, firstborn daughter of Rae Vann, heiress of Clan Vogel,” she said as she lowered herself into a deep bow. “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, young master.”

Donghyun frowned at he forced respect that she now showed him. The change had been absolute which meant that she was indeed whom she said she was.

The woman bowing before him was not a witch, no, she was a creature of myth just as he. She belonged to the oldest house of her people, the firstborn daughter, the heiress. She bowed only because she was younger than he and the ancient blood magic that bound them required her to show him utmost respect when in his presence.

Sighing, Donghyun rubbed a hand across his brow. Emma rose from her bow. He noticed then that her eyes were old, just as his. How in all of the centuries in which they walked the earth they had never met before was a wonder to him.

“I’ve heard much about you, young master.” Emma’s words revealed to him that even though she was bound to respect him she could talk for as long as she wanted to and with any tone she desired so long as the proper titles were used. Her smirk also informed him that she was not happy to be reduced to false reverence.

“Have you? I was most certain the world had forgotten about me.” He’d hoped so, at least.

“Most of us have, but not all.”

“No, I suppose the Ancients wouldn’t.”

“We wouldn’t.”

He walked over to draw the chair from his desk, settling in it comfortably. There was no use in thinking about lives past, there were more pressing matters to attend to.

“Shall we continue or discussion?”

 Emma settled on the piano’s bench, crossing her legs. “Of course.”

A heavy atmosphere settled between them. In the swirling air in the room existed admiration, awe, as well as confusion; if either of them could hear each other’s heart beats, they would find their drumming deafening. If Emma had not cloaked herself with a shield, he would have been intoxicated by her scent; if she had been close enough, she would have drowned in his.

Yet all this went unperceived because of the heavy weight which pressed down on them; the truth of the reality which they faced:

A murderer was still at large.


	8. Hierarchies

Many creatures have dwelled in this ancient world. Across the ages, one race or another has risen and fallen from power. A pattern emerged in which the powerful craved more; their greed made the earth swell with blood, the skies darken with curses. Darkness, hatred reigned unchecked, rampant. The ancient races battled one another until he original reason, the root of their long-existing dispute vanished without a trace from their memories.

These wonderful creatures spent their everlasting lives in eternal violence. The creatures of the mountains would descend upon the dwellers of the valleys. The citizens of the woods would haunt the people of the plains. The patrons of the oceans would drown whatever foolish soul ventured into their open waters. The rulers of the skies would swoop down, terrorizing the nomads.

These wondrous creatures spent their every waking moment haunting one another, destroying each other. It seemed as if the world would forever be reigned by chaos, until, inexplicably, the weakest of the races emerged triumphant.

No one really understood how or why, perhaps it was because the Creatures of Wonder, of power, had grown weary of their troublesome existences; perhaps they had become so bored with one another that they had turned their eyes elsewhere. Turned to Mankind.

The Creatures of Wonder had never given the weakest race any thought. The children of man had never sided with anyone. They were so small, so frail, and their lives lasted but a blink that the Creatures of Wonder had never considered them a threat. It had been unanimously, silently, assumed that this particular race would never amount to much. They were pardoned the rages of the Creatures, granted the opportunity to carry their own lives.

Eventually, these weak creatures build nations, kingdoms. They lived in relative harmony. It is written that their communities, their bonds, is what drew the attention of the Creatures. It was the observation of Mankind that brought their Age of Chaos to an end.

By observing men, the Creatures learned of love, of compassion, of forgiveness. They learned that cruelty existed within every race, that evil was true, real, but they also learned that good was truer, stronger, much more powerful.

From Mankind, they learned how to build nations, how to build communities within these nations, and alliances between their kingdoms. They learned about laws, government, order. They turned away from each other to work on themselves, to form unity between those that were similar before approaching those that were different.

An evident characteristic of Mankind had been the shortness of their existence, yet from this the Creatures of Wonder learned the meaning of patience, of ambition, most of all they came to understand what it meant to be _alive_. Their existences were given meaning, for this they relinquished their reign on the earth, gifting Mankind the world in gratitude.

When their kingdoms were solidified, the Creatures set forth their wisest to create a joint summit; elders and youngsters held a seat within the Summit in a powerful effort to maintain balance. The Summit declared that the Creatures of Wonder were to remain away from Mankind; their difference, their power could very well corrupt the minds of many. Instead, they were to watch over them, to keep the balance of the world. Nature became their greatest concern; Man needed a world to live in after all.

Slowly, however, the glamour of Mankind faded. The Creatures continued their lives within their kingdoms, their realms. A time came when their existences began to expire and the younger generations produced no heirs. The Summit declared that every abled male and female were to have children; they went as far as allowing a handful of humans to be transformed. Others simply bore mixed children.

In this manner, the Creatures of Wonder and Mankind finally came into contact. But it was not to last. Mankind became suspicious of the Creatures and began persecuting them, murdering their Halfling children. Ties were severed, but not before the Creatures of Wonder saved as many of their forsaken children as they could.

As an answer to this, the Summit ordered the kingdoms of their people to forever remain hidden. They gathered those with the purest of blood, the strongest of powers, assigning them as the keepers of their races and their Halfling siblings. They were also ordered to have as many pure-bred children as they could; Halflings lived only a third as long as the Creatures, died much easier, yet procreated much more. Pure-breeds were to look out for them for as long as possible, after all, it was because of the Creatures themselves that Halflings had come into the world.

The houses of these pure-bloods came to be known and recognized as the most powerful. They reigned kindly, but strictly. They were the eldest, the wisest, and it was guaranteed that they would all hold a position in the Summit someday. They were the keepers of balance, the guardians of peace, the leaders of many.

They were the Ancients.

Ancients were bound by laws, powers, older than any of them. Their world was one of tradition, of etiquette as old as time. In their realms, these old traditions and behaviors were honored, observed instinctively, without opposition, least a second Age of Chaos came to pass.

But in the modern world, the circumstances of meeting had been much too different and two Ancients now faced one another with suspicion and contempt.

 

* * *

 

“You’re from the Plains,” the Ancient Wolf began.

“Yes,” she replied. “You’re from the Woodlands.”

“Why are you here? The people of the plains have not ventured into the human world for centuries.”

Emma narrowed her eyes, hating the ancient oaths that obliged her to answer his every question, hating him for having that right simply for being older, for having only a slighter amount of skill and power. More than anything she hated the fact that she had to be respectful to someone that had not even thanked her for saving his life. She would not have bothered had it not been because he was Hyunseong’s alpha. Still, she felt the bonds of her oaths dangle loosely; he had not been around his people for some time, had not fulfilled his duties fully. This gave her a small measure of freedom with her words, as well as slight delight.

“Do you not plan to answer?”

“Must you be so rude?” she retorted. “You may be my elder but do not forget that I am the daughter of Clan Vogel, next in line as head of my house.”

Donghyun’s scoff dismissed her claim, shocking the young woman.

“You mock the standing of House of Vogel?”

“I mock your firm belief in such old customs. How much longer will you believe in ancient teachings? In the standing of the Ancients? Aren’t you a little too old to believe in fairytales?”

The color rose to Emma’s cheeks; Donghyun noticed only for a second how pretty she looked with the extra warmth in her face for only a second.

“How _dare_ you?” she fought the urge to jump to her feet and curse him.

“How dare I? You act as if no one has ever questioned the ways of the Ancients before.”

The girl looked at him with hard eyes, silence settling between them.

“I know who you are,” Emma finally spoke. “You are Kim Donghyun, first born son of Su Jong of Clan Vyr. You’re the Ancient that has forsaken his own people for a life of leisure among humans. You’re a deserter.”

“Look at that, a real product of the Ancients! Spewing their prejudices wonderfully!”

“Prejudices? Ha! If only they were! No, these thoughts are my own. The Summit still prays that you come to your senses soon. I see that that will never happen.”

Donghyun rolled his eyes, beginning to dismiss her claim until he noticed the steady accusation in her eyes, the clench of her jaw, the tremble of her frame. The girl’s words were her own. Somehow, he felt troubled that she should think so badly of him.

“Now I understand,” she continued. “Now I see how that stupid girl was able to attack the entire pack.”

“How—”

Emma pointed an accusing finger at him. “You didn’t teach them anything. You allowed yourself to grow weak, to forget. None of this would have happened if you had done your job as an Ancient!”

Donghyun rose to his feet, the chair clattering to the floor behind him. “Watch your mouth, little girl, unless you wish to have your tongue ripped out.”

“Empty threats will not work on me, Wolf-man! You’re far too weak to do anything besides bite at my ankles!”

Energy cackled between them. The lights flickered, the walls rumbled. Emma felt that she had pushed the limits of her freedom too much; though he had been away from his family for some time, he had been among them far longer. She could not continue to antagonize him unless she were willing to pay the price.

“Get out,” Donghyun commanded. “Get out before I slaughter you and a war rages between our people!”

“And whom would follow you, hmm? You’d take your wards to have them slain as cattle? Some leader you are!”

A terrifying growl ripped through the wolf-man’s throat. His hands snapped open, claws curved, sharp. His lip curled back, canines shimmering. Yet it was his mismatched that penetrated her bravado, the manner in which they changed from tender sapphire to hard ice and gold. There was heat in his eyes, rage so old had turned his left eye almost white while fresh anger made his right eye gleam with golden heat.

If Emma had not already been sitting, her knees would have instantly given out from under her upon the force of such eyes.

There were knocks on the door. Worried voices called to them.

“Hyung? Donghyun-hyung!”

“Noona! Noona, are you alright?”

Hyunseong.

Emma’s own rage surfaced at the memory of the fallen man. He had appeared so broken, bathed in blood, the only one coated in it. She had feared the worst. Her heart had broken a thousand times, she had struggled against the drive that would’ve led her to murder. When she had looked upon his wounded body, Emma had just enough reason within her to remain sane.

“You,” she said. “You almost killed Hyunseong!”

The accusation drew a vicious snarl from Donghyun. He longed to teach her a lesson! He rushed at her, aiming to kill. Emma readied herself, raising her arm, hand out, fingers spread wide, a counterattack on her lips.

A bright light appeared between them, exploding loudly, sending them both flying in opposite directions. Donghyun crashed against the bedside table, the lamp exploding. The wood shattered loudly, raining down on him even as he slammed through it and onto the wall.

Emma fared worse.

She crashed directly on the stone wall, her head snapping back, cracking against the stone in a loud, sickening way. She landed cruelly, brutally on the smooth surface of the piano, the wind flew from her lungs. She struggled for breath, struggled to see beyond the pain that now clouded her mind.

Another light appeared before her, blinding her as it exploded, sending her crashing onto the floor. There she lay in crippling pain.

Donghyun had gathered his wits about it him time to witness the second punishment, the pain of his already settled deeply within. He’d been shocked to see her fly off the piano. He’d cringed when she hit the floor. He could hardly believe the Oaths of Old would inflict such intense pain on a girl as small as Emma.

But inflict it they would.

He had been punished only once for threatening her life, Emma’s transgressions included her attempt at his coupled with her continuous disrespect and heartfelt contempt.

Several more lights appeared above Emma’s body. She laid crumpled, face down on the ground, unconscious. The next attack, Donghyun knew, would break her.

Faster than he had ever been, he rushed to the fallen woman. He threw himself over her, shielding her with his body. The force of the explosions knocked the wind out of him, broke several of his ribs.

He caught sight of more dazzling lights gathering. It would seem that the girl had really gone overboard with her words.

Quickly, Donghyun turned the girl over in his arms, cradling her head in his hands. He pressed his forehead to hers, dispelling all bad-blood between them. He thought of her nice voice, the voice as blue as the sky, fluffy as lazy gliding clouds with an undertone of meandering rivers. He thought of the set of wide eyes that held the depth of the earth in them and the way they would glimmer with honesty. He thought of her nice smile, the one that belonged only to Hyunseong, a gentle, heart-warming sight. He willed himself to focus only on these things, to forget the accusations. He would later deny that it had been easier than anything he had ever attempted to focus on before.

“Emma Van of Clan Vogel, I, Kim Donghyun of Clan Vyr bear no ill will against you. All is forgiven. All is well.”

The lights vanished just as suddenly as they had appeared. Donghyun managed to draw in a breath of deep relief, rearranging the unconscious girl in his arms so that her head rested on his chest.

What had he ever done to deserve any of this? Why had the past suddenly come creeping back? He had lived a good life away from the Woodlands, had lived happily with his brothers and their extended pack. What sin had he committed to deserve the punishment of the Oaths of Old and charge over the life of a girl he had just met?

He looked at the girl in his arms. Unconscious, her face was clear of any expression. She was very pretty, her skin healthy and beautiful. To the untrained eye, she would appear to be in her early twenties, but Donghyun could see beyond that. Traces of a life too long to be lived could be seen in the corner of her lips where there existed a slight downward tilt; a sign of too hardships much experienced.

He wondered what she was doing in a city so far from the Plains. The people of the Plains never left their kingdom; they were the ones that least interacted with others, especially in the human world. For one of its people to be found wandering the modern lands was a rarity—Emma wasn’t just a citizen, though, she was an Ancient, the next in line as head of her clan. What was she doing among humans?

What had she been doing that night up on the rooftop?

The sound of shouts and bangs coming from the door drew Donghyun’s attention away. He could hear Minwoo and Hyunseong’s frantic calls.

He groaned, knowing that one of Minwoo’s lectures would come next.

“Great, just great.”


	9. More Than Meets the Eye

The reflection that stared back at Donghyun revealed a battle weary man. His entire right side was deeply bruised, a dark stain against his marble skin. He raised his arm over his head, frowning at the injury that spread from his wrist to his abdomen. His muscles rippled with a dull, consistent pain. Minwoo had told him that the bruise had appeared after Emma had extracted the hex from his body. Apparently, it had taken her several days to heal him, but she had healed Hyunseong completely the first night of her arrival. The thought made Donghyun’s frown deepen.

Back in his room he found Minwoo pulling the bed covers until they lay wrinkle free and flawless. The debris that ued to be his bedside table and lamp had been cleared away while he showered. The room shone with tidiness, save for the cracks on the walls. Donghyun turned away from the imprint Emma’s body had left behind; it went deeper into the stone that his.

Minwoo noticed the depth of the imprints as well and walked over to him, his eyes careful, solemn. “Hyung, was that really necessary?”

Donghyun caught the meaning of his words instantly. He turned to his maknae, shocked that he had even inquired such a thing.

“I had nothing to do with that. What happened here was not of my doing.”

“Aren’t you being too quick to wash your hands, hyung?”

“Minwoo-ah,” Donghyun warned but Minwoo continued without intimidation.

“Do you know who she is?”

“Yes. Somewhat.”

“Then why are you this way, hyung? What happened at the rooftop was not Emma-ssi’s doing. It was unlike you to be so volatile towards someone we have just met.”

The alpha frowned. He hated when Minwoo’s words made sense—but, of course, they always did.

“She’s done nothing but help us since her arrival. She saved Hyunseong-hyung’s life. She saved your life as well. We should be grateful to her, but all we’ve been is suspicious, rude, even violent.”

“I didn’t touch her.”

“Hyung, you can’t be this way. I know you’re angry, we all are. I know you want her to pay, we all do, but taking out our frustrations on Emma-ssi is not right. We have more important things to do. We have a pending hunt.”

Donghyun sent a sidelong glance at Minwoo. The boy’s tender brown eyes flashed fierce honey momentarily. His leader remained acutely aware of the anger that burned deep within the chests of his pack. Spending time on petty face-offs with the Vogel girl would only be a waste of time.

Minwoo’s words rang true, as always, but Donghyun knew the boy would not understand what had happened between the Vogel girl and him. The girl had done nothing but help them, knowing her origins, Donghyun knew that she would continue to aid them. No reason existed to mistreat or mistrust her, yet the strange emotions swirling within the dam Donghyun had built within his chest made him weary of her.

“Yah,” the alpha said suddenly as a new thought occurred to him. “How long ago did it happen? How long was I asleep?”

Minwoo blinked, turning to face his leader and hyung. “It’s been almost a week now.”

“What? I was unconscious for that long?!”

“Not exactly. You would wake up sometimes, but you weren’t really you. Emma-ssi had been treating you, but on the third day she healed Hyunseong-hyung. After she healed him, she slept for two full days. She woke up just this morning, healed you as soon as she did. You woke up not thirty minutes later.”

"Minwoo-ah,” Donghyun’s eyes met the ones of the younger wolf. “How did she find us?”

“What?”

Donghyun began to pace, his fingers to his chin in a recently acquired habit. “What of the news? Has there been anything on the media? Any deaths? Reports of attacks? How are our Best Friends?”

“There’s been nothing, hyung. We told everyone to be careful and conceal their mark. Nothing has happened since last week. Our Best Friends are not even aware of what happened. They’re being discreet, even amongst themselves. I’m sure that they’re worried, though.”

He nodded along. The last time they had seen their extended pack had been more than two weeks ago—now three—at the funeral of their murdered member.

The thought of her life being stolen from her at such a young age continued to anger him. They had begun a hung and realized only too late that they had been the hunted. A fact that bothered Donghyun to no end, wounded his pride as both an alpha and Ancient. Still, there existed something else that gnawed at him.

“How did she find us?”

“Hyung?”

“How did Emma-ssi find us? Minwoo-ah, we never told anyone where we would be, what we would do. Hod did she know where we were? How did she know where to look? More importantly, what is she even doing here?”

Minwoo made to argue, misunderstanding his eldest brother, but Donghyun waved his protests away. There was more to Emma Vann’s story, more than simply wanting to help.

House of Vogel was known for their detachment from the human world, their love and zeal for their Halflings and their Turned. He’d often heard of their firstborn daughter, of how promisingly she shown in House Vogel. She possessed great talent, heart, provided a model for the younger generations to follow.

One of the reasons they had never met before was due to the fact that she had spent her early years in the academy the people of the Plains had built. She hardly left her land, in fact, Donghyun had a vague, faded memory of having seen her only once in their childhood. Headmistress Vogel had visited the Woodland is company of her daughter; this opportunity allowed him to place a living being to the name, the meandering talk. He had never seen her face until today, though.

Why would the perfect daughter of Vogel, the model Ancient, the Summit’s favorite child be in a city? What had drawn her away from the land she loved, her beloved Plains?

Something larger than what he first believed was at work. Something that involved Emma Vann ad that witch.

It was time to find out.


	10. Noona - Dongsaeng

When Emma regained awareness, she remained with closed eyes. Her body ached like never before, her conscience scolded her for disrespecting an Ancient in the manner in which she had disrespected Kim Donghyun-ssi. No doubt, she knew, the Summit found themselves in extreme shock and disbelief at finding the Oaths of Old having been triggered by Emma Vann.

Sighing, feeling as if all she ever did since arriving at the pack’s den was lose consciousness, she opened her eyes. She nearly screamed her head off when she found two identical faces staring down at her.

“Yah!” she bolted up. The boys scurried away, Youngmin looking slightly guilty while his dongsaeng flashed her a charismatic smile.

“Do you want to scare me to death?” Emma threw a pillow at the twins.

“Noonim,” Kwangmin caught the pillow and jumped onto the bed, joining her. “Is it true that you’re a good witch?”

Emma gawked at the boy. “A. What?”

“A good witch. You know, like the one in _The Wizard of Oz_ or Hermione Granger.”

Without warning, and feeling familiar with them because of Kwangmin’s approach, Emma took the boy’s cheeks in her hands, pinching them in punishment.

“What nonsense are you talking about? I’m no witch!”

“Ah! Ah! Noonim!”

“Call me a witch one more time, I dare you!”

“Ah! Noonim! I’m sorry, I did wrong! Hyung! Help me!”

Youngmin ran to his brother’s aid. He took Emma’s hands in his, unleashing the full force of his huge eyes on her. “Noona, he was wrong. Forgive him?”

The girl stared as the older twin batted his eyelashes, his eyes clear, honest. They thought it had worked, but they soon found themselves screaming in protest as a force of pillows smacked them continuously.

“Who do you think you are trying to pull such cheap trick on, huh? You think I will fall for that?”

Laughing and screaming, the childish twins ran out of the room. Emma jumped out of bed, chasing them with a smile.

“Yah! Come back here! I have a lesson to teach you!”

She chased them around a corner, crashing into the chest of another pack member. His arms instantly wrapped themselves around her, steadying her.

“Emma-ssi,” said a suave voice. “You could get hurt running around like that.”

The older girl looked up to find Jeongmin’s gorgeous, aesthetic face looking down at her. His eyes shone with narcissistic confidence.

“Jeongmin-ssi—”

The younger man whirled her around, dipping her low, one arm secure around her shoulders, the other around her waist, his hand on the small of her back.

“It would have been terrible if I had not been here to catch you,” he said. “Now that I have you in my arms, allow me to apologize for my inexcusable behavior earlier.”

Emma rolled her eyes. “Yeah, whatever, no bad blood or anything.”

Jeongmin smiled his aesthetic smile. “Allow me to make it up to you?”

Emma knew where he was headed as he lowered his face to hers. His brown eyes shimmered with confidence, with mischief. She blinked her eyes quickly as she placed her hand to his cheek, caressing it gently.

“Jeongmin-ssi.”

Jeongmin’s smile was brief for he soon found his ear in terrible pain as the older girl pinched and pulled it.

“Someone like you shouldn’t be trying so hard. It doesn’t suit you. It isn’t charming. It’s greasy.”

“Ow! Emma-ssi!”

“Noona. I’m your noona.”

“N-noona! I was being sincere!”

“Sincere? Ha! Come back when you know how to properly wipe the buggers off your nose! Now, put me back on my feet and find the twins.”

Jeongmin did as he was told, hurrying along after Emma twisted and pulled his ear one last time as incentive.

It wasn’t long before the three young wolves where kneeling with their arms over their bowed heads in the living room. Emma stood before them, hands on her hips.

“Do you have anything to say for yourselves?”

“Mianhaeyo, noona, we did wrong,” they said in unison.

“Kids these days have no manners. Would you speak that way to your mothers?”

“We wouldn’t.”

“You cannot go through life being this way. Reflect on what you did wrong.”

“Yes, noona.”

Emma smiled in satisfaction. Disciplining children wasn’t so hard! She turned to leave, froze, and felt as her stomach dropped to her feet.

Donghyun stood not ten feet away, staring. His eyes scanned the scene then focused those eyes that pierced on her. “What’s going on here?”

At the sound of their leader’s voice, the three wolves raised their heads, tripping over each other’s words as they attempted to inform their leader of the events leading to their misery, of how unfair it was. Emma did not believe Donghyun would understand a single word of the tirade.

He silenced them all with a raised as his piercing eyes shifted back to her. Emma felt the heat accumulate in her cheeks, but she refused to look away. Kim Donghyun was just another Ancient, just another Creature, she would not be intimidated by him!

They maintained eye contact for a few, silent seconds until Donghyun looked away indifferently, walking to his dongsaengs. He knelt before Kwangmin.

“Raise your head,” he instructed the younger twin. When he obeyed, the alpha placed his hand on the boy’s bare forehead, preparing the punishment of a vicious ttakbam.

“There are no witches in this den.”

The smack of his finger against Kwangmin’s forehead made Emma flinch. The boy cried out, his arms coming down to hold his hurting head.

“Keep your arms up,” Donghyun said as he moved onto Youngmin. The fear in the eldest twin’s eyes almost made Emma run to his rescue.

“Youngmin-ah, you’re not charismatic. Stop trying to save your hide those big eyes of yours.”

The whimper of the twin was almost as loud as the smack upon his flesh. Jeongmin gulped as his leader moved on to him.

“Yah, Lee Jeongmin, what did you think you were doing? Does she look like a woman that just anyone can touch?”

“No, hyung.”

“Don’t behave in that manner, it’s disgusting.”

“Yes, hyung.”

Donghyun gave his cheek a gentle pat before murdering his beautiful brow. “She’s your noona, my dongsaeng, respect her the way in which you respect your alpha.” His eyes traveled over to the girl. “Even more so. Understood?”

“Yes, hyung!”

The alpha walked out of the room, heading to the kitchen. Minwoo smiled at Emma, his eyes glimmering pleasantly.

“Noona, when Hyunseong-hyun comes back, we’ll go out for dinner, alright?”

“Eh? Ah, sure.”

He gave her a wide smile before going after Donghyun, stopping only to tsk at Kwangmin. “Babo.”

“Aigoo,” the girl sighed.

Feeling terrible for the boys she went and massaged the pain on their foreheads away. They looked at her with pleading eyes, wishing to be relieved of their punishing positions. But Emma simply patted their heads affectionately and went in search of Hyunseong.

In that instant, all three young wolves were convinced that she belonged with their alpha. She was just as strict and unforgiving as Kim Donghyun.


	11. The Calm Before the Storm

Emma remained close to Hyunseong and Minwoo as they left the den. She squinted at scarlet brightness of the sunset, frowning as she wondered why on earth they would leave the building while the witch was still on the loose and quite possibly aware that the wolves had not yet died as she had planned.

“Noona,” Minwoo took her hand in his, “don’t just stand there. Let’s hurry or we’ll be left behind.”

He pulled her along with an encouraging smile. His frame may have been slender, but the strength in which he held her hand betrayed his masculinity, his prowess. She smiled, her heart swelling with affection for the youngest member of the pack.

Hyunseong walked beside her, his hands in his pockets. He held his head high, his shoulders thrown back with confidence. The smile on his lips a familiar one; his eyes glimmering with his ever present shyness.

The entire group moved together casually, their footsteps light, carefree. Emma wondered why they were out on the streets when there was a witch to hunt. She would not have tagged along with the boys had it not been for Hyunseong’s soft, timid smile as he asked her to join them for dinner, otherwise she would have packed up her bags and chased after the disgusting wench.

As they exited the secluded allies and merged into the busy early evening streets, Emma noticed the further relaxation that settled on the young wolves’ anatomy. Only Donghyun showed any sign of discomfort as he placed his left hand to his right side. She wanted to go up to him, tell him that he shouldn’t act so carefree after what had happened, how they’d nearly all died. She wanted to throw a temper tantrum that would be so embarrassing they would all have to turn around and go home.

Hyunseong sensed her unease, noticed the downward tilt in the corner of her lips, a dead giveaway to her displeasure whenever she pursed them. Familiarly, but not without a slight nervous thump of his heart, he slipped his hand into hers, twining their fingers together, smiling cutely.

“Noona.”

“Mm?” Emma turned her head in his direction.

“I’m hungry.” His eyes sparkled, his lips in a cute pout.

The burst of natural aegyo left Emma speechless, disarming her. Minwoo flinched, frowning in disgust at his hyung. A soft tinge of embarrassment colored Hyunseong’s cheeks. It was all too much for Emma. She gave up to the flow and pull of the pack’s actions.

Unexpectedly, they stopped briefly before a nice, clean pharmacy. Donghyun glanced at it indecisively before leading them away. Emma wondered why he had stopped to stare at the shop. Minwoo’s lips twitched with an amused smile that he quickly smothered so as to not arise Hyunseong’s suspicions,

Many eyes followed the fashionably dressed boys. Some individuals faltered in their steps as they noticed the group moving casually through the streets. Emma felt uncomfortable under the many eyes. She nibbled on her lower lip, seeking shelter by focusing her gaze on the back of Donghyun’s head.

His blonde hair glimmered with hues of red, yellow, and orange as it reflected the rays of the powerful sunset. His black earring swayed in a hypnotizing slightly as he walked. She focused on the different strands of his hair so perfectly styled; Emma was sure that they were softer than silk. Soon, Emma was wondering what the color of Donghyun’s pelt was. Was it black, the usual shade for members of Clan Vyr? Maybe it was a shade of chestnut, soft and kind. His eyes shifted from sapphire to brown and ice-blue, so maybe his pelt was gray. His skin gleamed white, could his pelt also glow marble pale as his human form?

Wondering about his pelt made her wonder about the size of his shifted form. She’d never seen a Vyr clan member’s wolf form. Aside from Hyunseong, she had not seen any other werewolves’ in their animal anatomy. Hyunseong towered over her as a man, as a wolf, his body reached her shoulders. But Hyunseong wasn’t a Halfling; he had been Turned centuries back under special circumstances. How did that affect his size as a wolf? Also, Donghyun was an Ancient, with his age and power, just how massive would his lupine form be?

Minwoo watched the newcomer’s focus on their leader, his eyes lighting up in steady, complete understanding. If they weren’t busy with a witch, he would’ve sat back and enjoyed the unraveling of their tale. Unfortunately, he could would only be able to glance at it from time to time.

 

* * *

 

 

They sat around a long wooden table that had come to existence by pushing two smaller ones together. Emma sat between Hyunseong and Minwoo, across from an unsmiling Donghyun.

“Noonim,” Kwangmin beamed, “are you hyunry? We didn’t get to eat much today.” He placed his hands on his stomach. “I’m starving!”

Emma smiled a tiny smile at the boy, looking around the place, slightly confused by what she saw. Some tables had grills built into their centers with large vents hanging above them. Groups of young girls gathered to eat, some chattering incessantly, others eating continuously. Young men and women shared tables, food, drink, gossip. The normalcy of the place seemed strange to her. The modern world was foreign, to foreign.

“Noona,” Hyunseong smiled, “is this your first time eating in a place like this?”

The young woman turned around, eyes wide, filled with wonder. “Eh? Y-yes.”

Donghyun scoffed a smile, raising his hand over his head. “Imo!”

A grown woman answered his call, rushing to the table ridden with pretty, young flower boys.

“Aigoo, Donghyun-ah!” She hugged the alpha affectionately, hopping slightly.

He grinned, returning the woman’s embrace with warmth. “Imo, have you been well?”

“Aigoo, your admirers kept me so busy! Even when you don’t show up they continue to come. They eat so much! How can they be so skinny when they eat so much?”

“They’re growing girls,” Jeongmin suggested.

“Maybe they grown because they eat!” Youngmin contributed.

“Then they grow horizontally not vertically,” Kwangmin pitched in his unnecessary two cents.

“Aish!” the boys all said, the nearest members smacking the twin on the head.

The woman pulled the younger twin’s cheek. “That isn’t a nice thing to say about your sweet admirers!”

“Imo,” Hyunseong said as he hunched his shoulders, his hands gripped the seat of his bench as he kicked his feet under the table. “I’m hungry.”

The woman skipped over to his side of the table, placing her arms around his broad shoulders, pressing her laugh-lined cheek to his smooth one.

“You’re hungry! What would you like to eat, hmm?”

Hyunseong beamed at her, his eyes leveling with hers, shimmering with happiness. “Meat!”

After doting on Hyunseong, pinching his cheeks, and softly patting his butt, the owner of the restaurant finally left to bring Hyunseong’s beloved meat.

“Hyung,” Jeongmin frowned, “that was gross.”

"Noona liked it,” Minwoo grinned, leading their attention to Emma’s flushed cheeks.

The girl flinched as they all turned to her, her cheeks turning a darker shade of red. Hyunseong bumped her with his shoulder, smiling so widely his eyes crinkled happily.

“Emma noona is weak to aegyo.”

“Y-yah!”

“You should watch out for Jeongmin-hyung,” said Minwoo. “He’s got an abundance of aegyo.”

“It’s disgusting, really,” said Hyunseong.

“Look who’s talking!”

With that, the table erupted into heated protest. The young men bickered back and forth, accusing one another, attempting to decide whose aegyo was the most disgusting and cringe worthy. Bewilderment swirled within Emma, the scene much too unexpected, too unfamiliar.

Donghyun watched her, sizing up her reaction to the daily, modern day activities. She gnawed on her lip as her eyes darted about from wolf to wolf. He could see that the amount of chatter, of noise, troubled her ears. At first, he’d assumed her disposition to be that of a recluse, a scholar, a woman of books, letters, intellect, simply because of her name, her heritage, yet it now became evident that she truly had had no contact with the modern human world.

Donghyun could practically see her mind drowning in confusion. Everything she knew of the modern world, doubtless, she had learned from books and lectures. She knew the concepts, yet this proved to be her first experience attempting to put the theory into practice.

A tender smile tugged at the corners of his lips and would have manifested itself beautifully had the arrival of food not interrupted its birth.

Emma jolted with surprise at the amount of meat and vegetables that were placed on the table. The hoots of celebration the boys released several heads to turn in their direction.

“You boys must’ve been starving,” said the owner. “Remember to leave something for the little lady with you, yes? Can I bring you anything else?”

“Cola!”

“Beer!”

“Soju!”

The owner left with a laugh. The boys continued to chat as the food began to cook in the grill before them. Emma learned to cut the meat with Hyunseong’s instruction. She learned how to pour alcohol from Minwoo. She teased him about knowing how to do such a thing and he teased her about _not_ knowing how to do it. She had fun learning those things. She found the modern day culture astounding.

Hyunseong elbowed her gently after a while, nudging her to offer Donghyun a drink. The Ancient’s cheeks burned. She shook her head, trying to busy herself with the cooking meat.

“Eey, noona,” Hyunseong smiled, nodding towards a distracted Donghyun. “You have to be nice.”

“You say that as if I’m only causing trouble.”

“Well…”

“Yah!”

He laughed, placing the bottle of soju in her hand. Emma gulped, casting a discreet glance at the Ancient. She would have felt reassured if he had stuck out like a sore thumb, but in his impeccable fashion and styled hair he appeared too foreign, too comfortable in his surroundings. His comfort made her restless, his ease made her self-conscious. She would have felt much more comfortable if he had been clothed in the traditional fashion of the Woodlands; then he would have at least appeared somewhat familiar.

With effort, she reached out to pour the drink, stopped, and set the bottle on the table, sulking. Hyunseong and Minwoo’s shoulders dropped in disappointment.

Donghyun’s attention glided over to her, unaware of her silent, vicious struggle to build a cordial relationship between them through soju. All Donghyun saw was Hyunseong’s soft disapproving look coupled with a tender smile for the Vogel girl. The pink tint on her cheeks, her downcast eyes with her thick, luscious eyelashes made a wave of irritation course through him.

He sat up straighter, ignoring the pain movement brought to his bruises. The thought of her having healed Hyunseong completely and leaving him to deal with the slow healing process brought about by the Oaths of Old made his scowl deepen.

Just then, Mrs. Heo, the owner, caught his eye. She nodded slightly as she moved to look the front door, turning the sign on the glass from “Open” to “Closed.”

Donghyun lowered the glass he’d been holding onto the table. His blue eyes flashed, their mixed-matched pair of icy blue and honey tint making their appearance. The rest of the boys fell silent instantly, their own eyes flashing to their true colors.

An eerie silence fell on the restaurant.

The change was so sudden, Emma struggled with an unwanted wave of nervousness. She looked about, wondering if the wolves sensed danger.

A gasp stuck in her throat as she took in her surroundings. The individuals sitting around them—youngsters, grown-ups, male, female— possessed the eyes of supernatural creatures.

Threads of energy swirled around her, she could feel their intense existence. A cold horror settled in her chest, gripping her heart with deadly, icy fingers squeezing it so hard she felt her breath leave her. Her hands flew to her throat, attempting to keep her scream from ripping through.

The people around her weren’t Halflings, they hadn’t been born as Creatures either. They were Turned.

Turned!

Donghyun’s body tensed as Emma’s wide eyes turn to him. The shock, horror, and accusation in them made him want to hide underneath the table. As an Ancient, the heavy reproach in the Vogel girl’s eyes piereced him. His actions, thus far, he’d believed to be rightly justified until Emma Vann’s judgment coursed through the space between them.

What could he offer her? An explanation? Was there a valid enough reason with which he would not be condemned?

The look in her eyes told him there wasn’t.

The presence of minds applying soft pressure on his psyche forced him to refocus his attention. Whatever the Vogel child wished to condemn him with could wait, he had information the relay and a murderess to find.

Donghyun placed his hands on the surface of the table, sitting with squared shoulders, head held high. Releasing the deadblots around his mind, he allowed the young wolves to latch the bridges, to secure passages from his mind to those of their individual packs. The maze of minds solidifying after several seconds of intense concentration and silence.

“Let’s begin,” the Ancient Alpha commanded with a nod.


	12. Cracks in the Fortress

“Please introduce yourself.”  

With a narrowed brow, Emma focused on the pack’s alpha. Was he expecting her to introduce herself to every Turned present? She bit her tongue to prevent her sarcastic retorts from escaping her.

Hyunseong smiled reassuringly at her, placing her hand between his, stroking it lightly. Emma’s expression hardened. She felt as if the wolves were imposing something undesirable on her. Fuming, Emma drew her energy closer to herself, preventing any of the lupines within the room to so much as sense nor smell her.

Several of the Turned moved in their seats uneasily. Hyunseong’s eyebrows drew together with hurt. She had never before sealed him out of her presence. Feeling slightly guilty, Emma allowed Hyunseong, and only Hyunseong, within her protective walls.

Donghyun regarded her with hard eyes. He did not appreciate the manner in which she shielded herself against them. He felt as if he were staring at an empty spot before him. He could not hear her breathe, could not hear her heartbeat; her scent had vanished. Her impenetrable shield made him feel… human. He could not hear, see, or smell anything a human wouldn’t be able to perceive.

But while the wolves were unable to perceive Emma, the dweller of the Plains remained acutely aware of them. Prejudices, hatred, loathing older than the combined age of the Summit reared their hideous heads as the Vogel girl found herself surrounded, cornered, by the prowling denizens of the Woodland.

Snatching her hand out of Hyunseong’s, leaving him startled and anxious, the girl of the Plains rose to her feet. Her behavior brought a wave of fear in Hyunseong as he noted the fierce scowl that distorted her usual pretty face. Slowly, he rose as well, feeling how her eyes followed his every movement with caution, carefully calculating his actions.

“Noona,” he cooed, placing his hand on her arm. “It’s alright. We won’t—”

“Are you going to continue acting like a cornered rabbit for the rest of the evening or will you come to your senses and act like the future head of the House of Vogel anytime soon?”

A jolt of electricity made Emma jump at the sound of the Ancient’s prestigiously private tongue. Donghyun's command of the sacred language intimidated Emma. Every word had flowed with ease, privilege, and a stress on the werewolf’s accumulation of power throughout the ages. Her command of the language would always sound a couple of centuries too young; a fact that greatly irritated the proud Vogel child.

“What have you done to these people? How dare you—”

“We are not,” Donghyun hissed, “here to discuss that matter. You will take your seat. You will answer our questions. You will cooperate. Is that understood?”

Emma clenched her jaw, lips pursed. She refused to be the first to cave; she kept her eyes on his, daring him, challenging him as much as she could before having to submit to the laws.

“Who is that woman?” Donghyun said, returning to the common tongue.

“You’re kidding, right?”

“Does it look like I’m kidding?”

The young girl stared, confused. “You’re serious?”

“Emma-ssi,” Minwoo eased his way into the debate. “That woman has committed great crimes against our pack. It is vital that you tell us all you know about her.”

“Wait, you mean to tell me that you have _absolutely no idea_ _who she_ _is_?”

Minwoo shook his head. “Not whom she really is, no.”

Incredulity knocked Emma off her feet. All color drained from her face; the blush that made her so pretty disappeared without a trace. Hyunseong had shifted his body quickly, supporting her, preventing a complete fall. There were several cries of worry from the flower boys she had grown close to throughout the day. Donghyun himself half rose out of his seat upon seeing her collapse.

The girl fought the shock, swallowed her incredulity, her wrath, pushing down her insubordination.

“Donghyun-ssi?”

“Yes?”

She wanted to kill him, oh how she wanted to strangle the life out of him! But that thought could be harmful to _her_ , so she pushed it out of her mind. “Is it true? Did you really not know whom she is?”

“She’s human—or at least we thought she was,” Jeongmin answered for his hyung, feeling as if such proof of ignorance should not be spoken by their leader.

“Of course she’s _human!_ ” snapped Emma. “ _She’s nothing but human!_ ”

“N-noona.”

Emma shook Hyunseong’s supporting arm off her shoulders. She slammed her hands on the table, making the boys flinch. She pointed an accusing finger at Donghyun. He could see the rage in her eyes, the insubordination she struggled to overcome.

Without a word, Emma swung her arm out behind her. Suddenly, the windows darkened, obscured by curtains of darkness that had appeared from nowhere. Every Turned jumped to their feet, the sound of chairs scraping the floor rupturing the tense silence, yet adding more fuel to the fire.

“Sit down!” commanded Emma. Instantly every wolf obeyed her. They exchanged confused glances amongst each other before looking towards their alphas for guidance.

Donghyun exploded to his feet as soon as he witnessed Emma’s authority over his pack. “You dare!”

“I dare!” retorted the girl. “I shall dare to do whatever I wish with these children for they are clearly under the jurisdiction of an incapable leader.”

“You better watch your tongue. I do not fancy getting embroiled in another struggle like the one we had previously. It’s enough that _I_ had to be punished for _your_ insubordination.”

“My insubordination? Ha! You’re one to talk! If it weren’t for you—” 

“Enough!”

Hyunseong’s thundering command in the tongue of the Ancient’s rattled their bones. Donghyun’s breath caught in his throat. Emma’s heart froze in her chest.

“H-Hyunnie, h-how do you—”

“Never mind that,” he dismissed the occurrence with a wave of his hand. “You two need to focus and stop making a scene. Could we please, _please,_ sort this out without your annoying, incessant, bickering? A psychotic woman almost killed us and she’s killed many of our pack members. Whatever lover’s quarrel you two wish to have over who wears the pants in the relationship can happen later. Right now, you need to focus and share information with one another. Lives depend on this. Is that clear enough to the both of you?”

A stunned silence stretched between them for a long time. Hyunseong’s steady, confident stance remained unwavering. “Is that clear?”

Donghyun’s lips twitched into a half-smile. “Transparently.”

Emma nodded, reaching for a glass of water to moisten her dry mouth.

The younger wolf smiled charmingly. “Good, now let’s get on with this meeting.”

 

* * *

 

 

Standing atop one of the tables was the hologram of the witch. Her body, clad in black, rotated on the surface, providing everyone a complete view and analysis of the woman in question. Her eyes were slender, void of any and every emotion; her lips turned downward, fiercely adding to her malicious nature. All her hair had been styled to the right, revealing a closely shaved part of her scalp.

“Choi Youngil,” Emma said as she settled on the table opposite from where the hologram she’d called into existence rotated. The two wolves that occupied the seats moved away from her, suspicious.

“You don’t have to fear me, you silly things,” she said with a dry smile. “You’ve already consorted with a witch, no greater evil can befall you.”

“Noona.”

“Alright, alright.” Emma crossed her legs, rolling her eyes. “Choi Youngil is her real name. She’s known as a demon with a thousand names, though calling her a demon is quite an insult even to those lowly creatures.”

“Choi Youngil,” Kwangmin tried the name and found that it left a bitter aftertaste.

“Choi Yumi was the name she gave us,” said Minwoo.

“Choi Yumi, Choi Yuri, Choi Youngji, Choi Yoona; those are several of the names she’s given. She never changes her surname or the first letter of her first name, she can’t.”

“Why?” asked Youngmin.

“Because she’s bound by stolen magic.”

Donghyun’s eyes widened so much his eyelids nearly disappeared into his skull. Emma leaned forward, resting her elbow on her knee, her chin on the heel of her hand. She sent Donghyun a rueful grin.

“Aren’t you using magic right now?” said an impertinent girl from across the room. “Does that mean that you’ve stolen it as well? Then you’re also a witch.”

“Oh, honey, if I were a witch, you’d all be dead by now.”

Her words produced a commotion among those gathered. Some rose to their feet, ready to shift, others bared their sharp teeth while some grabbed chairs to throw at her.

“ _Down._ ”

The simultaneous command of the six alphas forced them all to sit in complete stillness. They all stared at the pack of alphas with confused reproach.

“What’s a witch?” asked Jeongmin. “You told me earlier that witches are made, not born. What’s the difference?”

Emma held cupped her cheeks, squirming happily as she said, “Jeongminnie remembered what I told him, yay!”

But just as unexpectedly as her pleasure had appeared it disappeared as she leaned back to answer his question.

“A witch can come into existence in several different ways. The most common are, one: they read books about ‘black magic’ and attempt to recreate the spells, and two: they steal the magic from a supernatural creature; in other words, someone like ourselves.”

“Emma-ssi is not a witch,” Donghyun joined in on the explanation. “She is from a family of magic. Her body is not that of a human. If she were taken to a hospital and examined nothing within her would resemble a human.”

“Exactly. Let’s say that I’m made of solid pixie dust.”

Donghyun rolled his eyes. Emma stuck her tongue out at him.

“How do you know so much about her?” asked another wolf. “We’ve never seen you before. You’re pretty suspicious yourself.”

Emma raised her eyebrow, looking right at Donghyun. “He’s one of yours, I’m betting my life on it.”

Donghyun’s lip curled angrily. He never denied it.

“How do I know? Well, that’s easy. I’m the one in charge of hunting her down. Duh.”

“You’re not doing a very good job,” said the same wolf.

Silence clawed the atmosphere. Emma lowered herself with great agility and silence to the floor. Her footsteps made no noise whatsoever; the lack of smell and sound from her unsettled every wolf within the room.

“To track a witch, one must quickly follow after her after her first murder. The first murder always gives her a full supply of magic. These witches, however, never manage to kill a creature with great magic reserves. They’re usually impatient, greedy, stupid; they target the younger Creatures, the ones that have just been born or,” she shot a sharp look at Donghyun, “Turned. As you all know, the longer you live, the stronger you become, the more your natural magic accumulates within you.

“Most humans after this magic are impatient. Unable to work their way up the ranks of trust due to impatience, they usually leave with small amounts of magic. Those witches are easy to track. They’re a disgusting nuisance, really.”

“So why haven’t you caught Choi Youngil?”

Donghyun stood and the wolf shut his mouth. He focused on Emma; their eyes intensely locked together until he stood before her, their faces only inches away.

“Who?”

Emma made no answer.

“Who?”

The younger Ancient stepped around him, placing her hands on her hips as she continued her lecture. “Anyway, right now, we need to focus on preventing other murders until I’m able to locate her. She got lucky and managed to accumulate a large amount of stolen magic from her recent ventures. However, she’s not very smart. She cannot tell a human from a werewolf unless they reveal themselves to her.

“I see most of you have tattoos marking you as members of the pack. Please hide them for now. The most important thing is your safety.”

Emma could still feel the piercing weight of Donghyun’s ice blue and honey gaze on her. She walked further from him, placing her hands on Youngmin’s shoulders. The younger wolf looked up at her; the concern in his sweet face made her gut clench.

“We shouldn’t go into details now,” Hyunseong suddenly declared. “Everyone, hide your mark for now and convey the information to the rest of the pack. No one is to reveal their true identity to anyone. Even amongst yourselves you must remain absolutely quiet.”

“From this moment on, you’re all humans,” added Jeongmin. “Behave as such. No crazy night athletics, no competitions of any kind.”

“Absolute discretion from this point on,” Minwoo declared. “Not a word of what was said tonight is to leave anyone’s lips.”

“She doesn’t know the extensiveness of our pack,” said Youngmin.

“Let’s keep it that way,” finished Kwangmin.

“How do we even know she’s still in town?” muttered one of the younger girls present.

Emma turned to her, feeling as if the entire world fell upon her shoulders when she looked at the fear in the tender-aged wolf.

“She’s still here,” she said. “She didn’t finish what she came here to do. I interrupted.”

“Everyone,” Donghyun finally spoke, “go home with discrete caution. Assemble small watches over the younger members. If anyone encounters the witch, you’re to contact _us immediately._ ”

“Do not attempt to fight her,” said Emma. “She’s a stupid witch with power; that makes her twice as dangerous.”

“Harmonies and Champions, watch the north side of the city. Reflections and Royalties, the east. D-namites and Illuminates, the south.”

“What about the west?”

“Boyfriend will watch the west. Bepeus, be careful.”

Donghyun’s eyes shifted back to sapphire blue, severing the psychic connection with the other wolves. The rest of Boyfriend soon followed suit. Best Friends rose to their feet, tidied up quickly, but effectively, and exited the restaurant in small groups at different intervals so as to not arise suspicion.

Several of them released cries of astonishment upon seeing the illusion that Emma had placed on the restaurant. From within the windows had been obscured by impenetrable blackness, from the outside, the image of a busy restaurant shimmered with faces that no one recognized.

They muttered amongst themselves about the newcomer before leaving. Some pack members approached the alphas, worried about them. After a round of reassurance and good wishes, the last group of wolves exited the building.

Emma sighed, letting herself drop into an empty seat. “I could do with some soju right now.”

Kwangmin poured some of the alcoholic beverage into a cup, offering it to her with both hands. Emma smiled, taking it as she patted his head affectionately. She really wished she’d met them all at a different time under different circumstances. They wouldn’t have gotten off to a bad start; that much she knew.

Sighing, she drank the soju in one shot, feeling the heat the drink left behind. She wondered if the burning sensation was felt by everyone who drank or if it was just her. Shrugging, she sought Hyunseong, feeling a great need for comfort. That boy had a habit of disappearing whenever she needed him the most.

A hand gripped her arm. She knew from the strength in it that it wasn’t Hyunseong. Scowling, she turned to shout at Donghyun but found herself being pulled to her feet. He lifted her as if she were made of paper.

“Choi Youngil,” he forced the name out. “Whom did she murder?”

Emma released an exaggerated sigh. “Where’s Hyunnie?”

“Who?!” Donghyun gave her a single shake.

“ _Hyung!_ ” Minwoo jumped in between them.

Emma felt something moist run down her forearms. Touching her fingers lightly to her upper left arm, she winced. She drew them back and found blood running between them. Donghyun had pierced her skin with his claws!

Anger erupted within her. She grabbed a chair, throwing it with all her strength over the Ancient Alpha’s head. It exploded against the wall. Mrs. Heo cried in fear and protest, having just entered the room with Hyunseong at her heels.

Donghyun growled fiercely as he tried to reach the girl demanding to know the identity of the witch’s first victim. Minwoo was having a difficult time obstructing him. Jeongmin and the twins formed a barricade around Emma. Hyunseong rushed to restrain his alpha, linking his arms under Donghyun’s, locking his hands behind his neck. The alpha struggled, kicking as he attempted to get a hold of Emma.

“You disgusting _beast!_ ” shouted the girl. “You’re nothing more than what our disgraced ancestors were!”

Her words shot through to Donghyun’s reason. He felt as if he’d been shot in the stomach with a silver bullet. A sharp, intolerable pain ran through his right side, making him growl and lose his balance. Hyunseong—always reliable, kind Hyunseong—supported his struggling leader.

The rest of the boys relaxed slowly. Jeongmin tucked Emma under his arm comfortingly, rubbing her back, soothing her angry sobs.

Donghyun looked at the woman from the Plains. He knew, he knew, the Summit wouldn’t send another Ancient after a witch. They never would unless something unthinkable had happened. Unless an Ancient had been killed.

“Who?” asked the leader again; desperation and grief choking him. “Dammit, tell me whom it was!”

“Not of yours!” Emma shouted back. “Not one of yours!”

Donghyun crumbled then, relieved.

Emma sobbed harder into Jeongmin’s chest.  


	13. Haunted

The stench, dampness, slime, and darkness oppressed her and put her in a foul mood. She’d tried to clear away the dirk, bugs, and rats. She had managed to raise her makeshift bed with old wooden crates; she kept her possessions dry, clean, by placing them within metal boxes. The squeaking of rats, the scraping of their creepy little feet made her grind her teeth. Somewhere, the drip, drip, drip of water mocked her.

“Shut up.” She placed her hands over her ears. “Shut up, shut up, shut up.”

A cockroach scurried by, followed by a disgusting fat rat. The roach crept over her foot; that was when the rat caught it, settling on the soft skin of her foot to eat its disgusting meal. A high pitched screech echoed through the tunnel as she flung the dirty rodent off her. It squeaked as it slammed against the curved wall of the tunnel, dying. Its broken carcass landed atop one of her metal boxes. She glared at the lifeless vermin, her ragged breathing giving way to a wrath-filled screech.

Through the echo of her frustration, the soft, lighthearted chuckles of a man came through.

“Shut up!”

The man’s chuckles gradually morphed into a pleasant crystalline laugh.

“Youngil-ah,” the voice called. “Youngil-ah.”

“Shut up!” the witch screeched. She whirled around, hex ready.

But there was no one. Peals of beautiful laughter ran louder, surrounding her, oppressing her. “You failed, Youngil-ah.”

“Shut up!”

She whirled around, smashing a box with a released hex. Its contents scattered in the narrow tunnel, some charred from the fierce force of corrupted magic.

“She found you, Youngil-ah.”

“No! No! She hasn’t found me yet!”

The pleasant crystalline laugher coiled around her. She could feel is breath by her cheek, his whispers to her ears. “You failed, Youngil-ah. She found you, Youngil-ah.”

She clawed her ears, scurrying away. The laughter penetrated the violent ringing in her ears, settling in the core of her mind.

“She will kill you, witch!”

She released a screech bloodier than murder.


	14. Where to Start?

Donghyun paced. He did that a lot, pacing. He stood on the ledge of the rooftop where they had battled the witch and paced. He refused to call her by her name. He refused to address her as anything more than "wench" or "witch."

He felt stressed. 

He had the boys to worry about, the pack, the city, the humans, the witch. On top of that he had to worry about Emma. 

Donghyun regretted having treated her so harshly back at the restaurant. Her blood still crusted his nails; his punishment for having lost his temper.  His right side ached beyond belief. A sting had settled behind his eyes, on his brain; it showed no signs of leaving anytime soon. 

He had no idea where to begin. Everyone had reacted adequately. Donghyun should've gotten home and gotten some sleep, but his brain kept turning. 

He wasn't even having coherent thoughts. In his mind, blank wheels turned, fueled by emotions. First came anger, as it always did; i t spun the largest wheel.  Then came regret. Always, regret. Donghyun regretted so many things and he wasn't even halfway through his lifespan yet. Exhaustion made the wheels rusty. Stress kept them going. 

Donghyun could not make heads or tails of anything anymore. It frustrated him. It angered him. It made him lash out and hurt those around him. 

He thought of Emma. She had looked so shocked, so furious when she'd seen her own blood on her hands. She had probably never seen so much of her own lifeblood in her entire life. All she had been through since she arrived were Donghyun's attacks and accusations. 

Why? Why did he have to lash out against her? The daughter of House Vogel did nothing to deserve such uncouth treatm ent . 

Yet thinking about Emma made him feel so unbalanced, so nervous , that he couldn't help but feel angry. He didn't understand why. Donghyun hated not understanding, hated being ignorant. 

"Hyung." Hyunseong jumped up onto the ledge, bringing Donghyun's pacing to a sudden stop. "Hyung It's freezing out here."

Donghyun gave a dry laugh. "Really, Hyunseong?"

Hyunseong smiled. "It was worth a shot."

He lowered himself onto the ledge, dangling his legs from the edge, swinging them gently. Donghyun didn't sit, he crouched low, his hands clasped with his elbows resting on his knees. They stared out into the night, both admiring the skyline.   


"Aren't you going to ask?" Hyunseong said after a few minutes of silence.

"About what?"

"About Emma- noona ."

Donghyun pursed his lips. Hyunseong's eyes were focused on the horizon, but they might as well have been on him. Donghyun could feel their weight even when Hyunseong chose to look at something else. If anything, that action multiplied their weight. 

"What about her?"

"What about her?" Hyunseong's head snap p ed around so quick Donghyun heard  his neck  muscles pulling underneath his  skin . "Really, hyung?  Really? "

Donghyun sighed. He couldn't help it. Emma--or any mention of her for that matter--simply made him irate. 

"Sorry."

They sat in silence. 

Now that Hyunseong had brought her up, Donghyun wanted to ask. Where had they met? Why was she so close to him? Did she always touch him so casually, smile so blindingly? Did she have to call him  Hyunnie all the time?

"Is she your mate?" Donghyun blurted out.

Hyunseong nearly fell of the edge. He turned around to stare wide-eyed at his alpha.  "W-what?"

Donghyun was embarrassed. He wanted to jump off, to not catch himself mid-fall, to just let his body smack against the pavement. Maybe then he wouldn't be such an idiot. There was nothing he could do about the question now, he'd asked it and Hyunseong had heard him. So he put on his best poker face and pressed on. 

"Did you imprint on her?"

"Good gracious, hyung!  No ."

Donghyun said nothing. He forced himself to feel nothing. He couldn't afford to feel anything except rage. 

Hyunseong caught the shift in his body language. Donghyun tensed up, clenched his fists, narrowed his eyes. He was doing it again, falling back on his rage when he couldn't face something much bigger than himself, something he couldn't understand.

"She's the one that saved me," Hyunseong continued, "back when I was human."

The rage in Donghyun's eyes cleared. "She saved you? Emma Vogel did?"

Hyunseong punched him lightly on the arm. "I told you her name before. Well, back then she didn't go by Emma."

"Was she the one that taught you the language of the Ancients?"

"What?" 

" Our language. The one that's forbidden for anyone other than an Ancient to know ," Donghyun explain ed in said language. 

Hyunseong's eyebrows knitted together. "Could you say that again in a language I can understand, please?"

"You...don't know it." He blinked slowly, trying to analyze the situation.

"Of course I don't. I'm not an Ancient. I'm Turned."

Donghyun's mind raced a thousand thoughts per second. Hyunseong didn't know, there had been no way that he could've known. But he had heard him speak in his tongue. What's more, he'd followed one of his  commands .  There was no way that Hyunseong could do something like that.

" Where’s Emma?"

"She went out."

"Out? This  late ? "

Hyunseong smiled at his worry. "She's with Kwangmin and Jeongmin."

Donghyun stood up, jumping down to the rooftop's slick floor with lithe movements. "Where did they go?"

He got a shrug for an answer. " Noona said she needed to go somewhere. She wanted to go alone. I sent Jeongmin and Kwangmin with her. Minwoo was already asleep."

Donghyun growled. Hyunseong actually quivered in fear. 

"What is she thinking? No. She's  not thinking!" 

Hyunseong watched as Donghyun paced, stopped, whirled around, stood on the ledge once more, ready to dive, stopped with a wince, shook his head, thinking better of it, headed for the door, and left him sitting there. 

If he had not been too bewildered by his leader's actions, Hyunseong would have spotted the silvery green light that engulfed him. 


	15. Our Differences Set Aside

Emma followed Jeongmin into the white-walled, luminescent lit 24-hour pharmacy; Kwangmin held the door behind them. It smelled sterile, like if someone had taken to moping the floor and cleaning the walls with Clorox. Emma resisted the urge to pinch her nose close.

 

“Noona, what are we looking for?” Jeongmin asked. He caught his reflection on one of the round mirrors hanging from one of the aisle shelves and started fixing his already styled hair, one eyebrow raised, one narrowed.

 

“Something for muscle pain.”

 

“Are you in pain?” Jeongmin whirled around, taking her arm in his hands, inspecting the healing puncture wounds. The flesh around them had begun to bruise a nasty purple.

 

Emma shook her head, gently removing his hands from her arm. “It does ache, but it’s not unbearable. No, I need something for deep bruising.”

 

“Is it for Donghyun-hyung?” Kwangmin asked.

 

“Yes.”

 

She walked down each aisle, scanning the shelves. She’d never been within a pharmacy before, she had no idea so much medicine would be stack up on racks. Humans were fragile, it only made sense to have so much medication in one place.

 

Nothing in there would help Donghyun heal, but it could definitely ease the pain. Emma had no idea how he could walk around while handling the deep bruising on his right side. She began feeling a little guilty for having healed Hyunseong. Just a little guilty.

 

“Hey, Jeongmin?”

 

“Yes, noona?”

 

Emma took a flat packet, turning it over to read what it was for. “Um…Did Donghyun-ssi turn all of you?”

 

He raised an eyebrow. “All of us? All of Boyfriend?”

 

This time, it was Emma’s eyebrows that rose. “Boyfriend? Do you guys really call yourselves that?”

 

Jeongmin smiled, taking the packet from her and looking it over. “We didn’t choose the name. Our extended pack did. They thought it would be cute. We call them Best Friend’s because calling them Girl Friends would exclude the guys.” He handed the medicine back to her. “That’s for a cold.”

 

Emma stared at it then looked up at him, still crouched low by the cold medicine. “So, was it Donghyun-ssi that turned everyone?”

 

His brown eyes remained steady on her. He lowered himself so that their eyes locked. “Noona, Donghyun-hyun did not turn any of us.”

 

Emma’s jaw dropped. “What? Then who—?”

 

“Noonim!”

 

She turned to find Kwangmin at the end of the aisle, his arms full of little white and blue packets. He beamed at her as he trotted up to them.

 

“What is it, Kwangmin?”

 

“I asked the pharmacist and he said this is the best treatment for pain.”

 

Jeongmin found a basic first-aid kit that he soon exchanged for a more extensive one. They grabbed a boxful of bandages, disinfectant, and surgical gloves. The pharmacist gave them a funny look as he rang up their selection.

 

Emma gave a look that asked “What’s that?” when Jeongmin handed the man his credit card. He winked at her, a sideways smile on his lips. Kwangmin folded his lanky arms on her head, resting his head on them. The intense heat they emanated was almost suffocating. It made the room uncomfortably hot.

 

“I think he thought we were gangsters,” Kwangmin said.

 

They were making their way back home. Emma carried the lightest of the bags; the boys had refused to let her carry more. She found it ridiculous, she also possessed inhuman strength, but they’d argued that they were not used to something like that. Something or other about chivalry and being gentlemanly.

 

“Better gangsters than werewolves,” Jeongmin shoved him playfully.

 

“Shh!” Emma shot Jeongmin a scolding glance. “As far as anyone is concerned, we’re gangsters. Human gangsters.”

 

“Noonim, do you even know what gangsters are?”

 

“No.”

The boys couldn’t walk after that. They doubled over, holding their stomachs, their laughs resonating loudly in the near-empty night.

 

“Shh,” Emma urged them. Her shushing only made them laugh harder.

 

She rolled her eyes. Deciding to leave them there, she continued on her own. She did not get very far.

 

Someone rounded the corner at high speed; they’d been running, so they collided, hard. She lost her balance at the sudden impact. Strong arms latched themselves around her, steading her. She felt herself tilt back at a dangerously low angle. They’d thrown a leg out, stepping forward to balance them both; their knee by her side. Emma felt as if a concrete wall had run into her, slightly dizzying her.

 

She stared up at Donghyun. His blue eyes were wide; one widened more than the other, so distinct were his mismatched eyes. His chest heaved with labored breathing, nostrils slightly flaring with each inhale and exhale. His arms held her steady in that treacherous position. Emma gripped him by the shoulders, holding herself up as much as she could. Their faces were close. Too close.

 

Heat exploded in Emma’s chest, climbing up her neck, settling on her cheeks. Donghyun continued to stare at her wide-eyed.

 

“I—I need to talk to you,” he finally said.

 

Emma didn’t trust her voice. She nodded.

 

Jeongmin cleared his throat behind them. Emma had not even noted when they’d stopped laughing.

 

Donghyun looked over Emma’s head at them. When his eyes returned to her, they were clearer; the sapphire mist in them had dissipated, though not entirely. He pulled himself up, setting her on her feet gently.

 

Emma couldn’t bear to look at his eyes anymore. Her insides twisted, knotted, and burned. She tried, she really tried, to keep herself from scanning his face. But Donghyun made it impossible.

 

He had a nose that sat straight on his face, no lumps or bumps to indicate any imperfection—a little too thin. His lips were full, plump; his upper lip just a little fuller, slightly puckered, with a defined Cupid’s bow and a well grooved philtrum. He had high, sharp cheekbones. His skin was pearly, creamy, and smooth. He did not look a day older than twenty-five.

 

Donghyun’s face was the kind that became most beautiful with minimal expressions. When his lips rested immobile, when his eyebrows didn’t furrow, when his eyes carried every secret he held, every unspoken, screamed word, every raging emotion in them was when Donghyun was most beautiful.

 

Such minimal expression now settled upon his features, smoothing his surprise out. His eyes remained steady on Emma. She felt the heat on her chest, her cheeks. She didn’t want to look away. She didn’t want to come across as having been intimidated by him. But, if she told the truth, she was.

 

“Emma,” he said.

 

His voice sent shivers down her spine. She had to look away. “Yes?”

 

“I said I needed to speak with you.”

 

Emma nodded again.

 

“In private.”

 

She took a deep, calming breath. “Okay. I need to talk to you, too.”

 

Donghyun stepped aside. One hand touched her elbow lightly, the other indicated that he would follow her.

 

Emma gave him one last glance before heading back home. She hadn’t noticed when Jeongmin and Kwangmin had left.

 

* * *

 

 

“Sit down.”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“I said, ‘Sit down.’ I need to take a look at those bruises.”

 

“What bruises?”

 

Emma poked Donghyun’s right side. He gave a low growl of pain.

 

“Those bruises.”

 

They were back in his room. She had followed him in wordlessly, shut the door, and demanded that he take a seat.

 

Donghyun watched her steadily. She had changed into an ash-grey, long-sleeved wool dress, black leggings, and stacked booties. An amethyst infinity scarf dangled from her neck, her hair trapped beneath the smooth fabric. She’d been wearing a military green coat earlier. Hyunseong’s coat.

 

He could only smell Hyunseong’s scent on her. The amethyst scarf, his coat, his scent, it all seemed as if he were laying his claim on her.

 

“Donghyun-ssi,” Emma placed a hand on his arm tentatively. “Please sit.”

 

He sat.

 

Emma pulled the scarf over her head, tossing it on the bed. She pushed her long braid back, flicking the loose strands off her face with delicate fingers. She took the hem of his shirt, tugging it up.

 

Donghyun’s hand snapped out. She flinched when he crushed her fingers.

 

“Stop being this way,” she said. “I need to take a look at those bruises. You can’t be walking around in pain all the time. You’d be useless.”

 

He couldn’t argue with her.

 

Emma gawked as he pulled his shirt over his head.

 

Chiseled. That word popped into her head as she looked him over. A cliché, but a true one in this case. His pale skin curved in toned grooves. Donghyun seemed to be made almost of sculpted marble. Tarnished marble.

 

She winced at the dark, painful pools that spread in horrifying sizes across his side.

 

Emma reached out carefully. Her fingertips glowed light blue. Donghyun shivered when they touched his wounded flesh. They were cold, colder than what he was used to. Emma glanced at him briefly before kneeling. She brought her face close to his body, whispering healing words.

 

A trickle of electric relief crawled over his skin. He wished that those wounds hadn’t been inflicted by a hex; he would’ve healed faster. Donghyun also regretted that fight he’d had with Emma. Punishments from the Oaths of Old were not easy to handle. If he was in pain, he could only imagine how she felt.

 

Emma pulled the plastic bag over. She read the front of the flat packet, turned it over, and shrugged.

 

“Do you even know what that is?” Donghyun asked, his eyes wide.

 

“Nope. But I bet it’ll help.”

 

Donghyun scooted away from her as she tried to press the white gauze onto his skin. “I don’t want that thing on me if you don’t know what it is!”

 

Emma rolled her eyes, handing him the discarded wrapping. Donghyun stared at her guardedly as he took it. When his eyes shifted away from her, Emma pressed the gauze onto his skin.

 

“HEY!” Donghyun jumped away. He tried to reach the foreign, human medical patch.

 

“Stop that!” It was Emma’s turn to crush his fingers in her hand. “It’s for the pain!”

 

“You just said you didn’t know what it was for!”

 

“Do you honestly think I would give you something that would hurt you?”

 

“Maybe.”

 

“Oh, c’mon! You’re already broken enough as it is.”

 

Her voice had drifted into barely an audible whisper. The pressure on his hand changed from a crushing into a desperate grip.  “It’s for the pain. Pain reliever. That’s what pharmacist told Kwangmin it was.”

 

She looked so sad. Her chin slightly tucked in, her eyebrows raised and furrowed. The corners of her lips tilted downward as she gnawed at them.

 

Donghyun turned his hand over in hers, holding it gently. It amazed him how fragile she seemed. She had been stomping around since her arrival, ordering everybody, casting spells here and there. She paraded around with her head held high, her eyes unwavering. And now she was nothing more than a bundle of nerves; a girl taken from her comfort zone and thrust into a world whose newness assaulted her. A world where all the rules had changed.

 

Looking at her this closely, without pretense, Donghyun could see that she was not as strong as she pretended to be. Exhaustion prevented him from creating mistrust between them.

 

Emma was from the Plains, the firstborn daughter of Clan Vogel, an Ancient, and, undoubtedly, the next candidate for the Summit.

 

Donghyun was from the Woodlands: the firstborn son of House of Vyr, an Ancient, and, at one point, the most favorable candidate for the Summit.

 

He slowly realized that Emma had managed to attain the candidacy because he had rejected his position. Donghyun still remembered the pressure, the constant surveillance, praise, chastising that came along with being a candidate. Emma was much younger than what he had been when he’d first been selected. After his departure, he couldn’t even begin to imagine how much stricter the Summit had become.

 

Was capturing the witch her final assignment before being fully inaugurated? Had they sent her to clean up someone else’s mess?

 

Donghyun winced. If she had been sent to clean someone else’s mess, she had been sent to clean up _his_ mess. He wasn’t too sure he could look her in the eye after that.

 

He gently moved her stray hair out of her face. He sat back down, his head bowed.

 

Emma’s sigh quivered. She sat beside him this time, the bag of pain relievers on her lap. She applied them gingerly, being careful not to brush his aching skin. The cold touch of the patches wasn’t lost on Donghyun; the heat was.

 

“We need to talk about Hyunseong,” he said.

 

“Were you the one that taught him our language?”

 

“No. Did you?”

 

“No.”

 

“I didn’t think so.”

 

Emma gathered up the empty wrappers. “So, you’re telling me that Hyunseong knows our language, but that neither of us taught him?”

 

“Not only that, he doesn’t remember that he spoke to us in the Ancient tongue.”

 

“What? That’s impossible.”

 

“Emma,” Donghyun turned his body so that he could face her better. He took her hands. They were shaking. “He gave us a command, Emma.”

 

She whimpered, her hand flying to her mouth. Donghyun wrapped his arm around her shoulders, drawing her close. Icy fear settled in their hearts.

 

“Emma…who did she murder?”

 

“Oh. Oh! Please, don’t ask me. _Please._ ”

 

Her pleas reached into his chest, gripping his heart, squeezing it painfully. He rubbed her arm comfortingly. His touch felt life fire on her skin.

 

“I need to know. Emma, if she has control of Hyunseong, if she took the essence of someone more powerful than either of us…” He could not bring himself to finish that thought.  “You need to share everything with me. Please.”

 

Emma tried to flee. Her eyes still felt heavy from all the crying she’d done at the restaurant earlier. Huge, stinging tears were already pushing their way out of her eyes. She would’ve cried for a century if they gave her time to grieve.

 

But Donghyun held her tighter, closer. She couldn’t escape his forceful embrace.

 

“Don’t make me, Emma, don’t make me order you to.”

 

She choked on air, on sobs, on her tears that were already flooding her cheeks. His hands burned her. His arm around her shoulders burned her. His chest against her face burned her. A horrid feeling bubbled at the pit of her stomach, climbing up, up, up until it ripped through her lips.

 

“My brother! She killed my older brother!”

 

Emma held onto Donghyun. She felt her broken heart shattering once more; millions of pieces becoming billions. Her heart had been so thoroughly broken that it lay in crumbs at the base of her soul.

 

Donghyun held Emma. He felt her body heave, heard her sobs strangle her. He felt her tears on his bare skin, cool. He held her tighter with each sob, one arm around her shoulders and a hand on her hair. Donghyun felt her pain. He felt her grief. And it tore him apart.

 

It tore him apart. It changed his world. 


	16. Woodland Manor

“Where is Donghyun-ssi?”

“He went out.”

“Out? On his own?”

Minwoo raised an eyebrow at Emma. “Yes, out. It seems like the city is relatively safe. The witch seems to have moved on.”

“She hasn’t!”

“No one has seen her. You can’t sense her like before, either.”

He watched as Emma bit her lower lip. “I can sense her. I just…can’t find her.”

Minwoo regarded her closely. It had been more than three weeks since the pack had mobilized, a month since their encounter with Choi Youngil. Emma has assured them that she could find her, that all she needed was a map of the city. Minwoo had watched her spread it out in Donghyun’s room floor, sit beside it, close her eyes, and freeze.

Donghyun and Hyunseong had been out on patrol with D-namites and Harmonies. Emma had instructed Minwoo not to interrupt her, so he had let her be. When Donghyun and Hyunseong returned, they had pulled her away from the map after finding out she had been searching since they’d left three days before.

Another nasty argument between the Ancients had ensued. They had yelled at one another in that strange language of theirs for hours. Minwoo had never before met anyone that could match Donghyun’s personality tooth and nail the way Emma did. Although he was willing to believe that her temper rivaled and even surpassed his.

“Are you insane? You could exhaust yourself to death!”

“I know what I’m doing!”

“You clearly don’t!”

Minwoo, at one point, had been able to soothe Donghyun out of his temperamental outbursts. With Emma around, it had become nearly impossible to keep him from exploding. On the other hand, Hyunseong tamed Emma quickly, efficiently, almost effortlessly. Minwoo would have been glad for this had it not made Donghyun even more irate.

Their argument only ceased when gleaming orbs of light appeared. Emma had quickly, almost naturally, jumped into Donghyun’s arms, shouting that she was deeply sorry. She had hidden her face in the curvature of his neck. Donghyun had held her tightly, protectively, his eyes darting about nervously as they followed the orbs.

“I can’t find her,” Emma had finally confessed. “I’ve looked everywhere and I can’t find her. She’s here, in the city, but I just can’t find her!”

Boyfriend had then watched as Donghyun soothed her, how she fought so hard to stop the hiccups that started when she began to cry. Hyunseong had ushered them all out of the room, giving them the privacy they needed.

That had been more than two weeks ago. They had continued to patrol the streets, continued to hold their breath.

Donghyun and Emma spent many hours before the map. Minwoo knew that his leader had given her his room; only he woke up early enough to find him sleeping on the sofa. Emma usually exhausted herself to the point of immobility. A fact that worried them all, Donghyun especially.

Their alpha had not been out of doors since Emma announced her shortcomings. He had remained with her every day, cooped up in the forgotten building that doubled as their den until Minwoo had finally convinced him to go out for a run.

“Noona,” he patted the seat beside him. Emma walked over, her eyes downcast. He took her hand in his, noting the slight tremor that wouldn’t leave them.

“Noona, I need you to teach me.”

Emma’s head snapped up, her brow furrowed. “Teach you?”

“Yes. I know there is a lot Donghyun-hyung has kept from us.” He didn’t add how he suspected he kept many more secrets from her as well. “Noona, tell me, what are we? What is Donghyun-hyung keeping from us? What is he? Who is he? Who are you? Why is this happening?”

Emma’s eyes met his, glimmering with their own natural light, steady and strong. “I cannot tell you.”

“Why not?” Minwoo groaned.

She smiled, stroking his cheek with a trembling hand. “Because I’m not your alpha.”

Minwoo wondered about that.

Emma got to her feet, grabbed a coat that had been draped on the lazy-boy, and headed for the door.

“Where are you going?”

“Witch hunting.”

He stared after her for a few moments before rushing out. “Wait for me!”

* * *

Donghyun walked around Wildwood Manor inspecting every room, contemplating every aspect of the ancient home in its new, modern condition. The plumbing had been replaced quickly, efficiently. Not a single lightbulb had gone out and new additions had been made. Not a single speck of dust rested on the furniture. Everything stood in its proper place in perfect tidiness.

Donghyun had no recollection of ever spending more than a few moments within the manor at any given time, yet the entire building glowed with cleanliness. He turned to the white-haired, round-cheeked maid that trotted behind him at a respectful distance. She let out a yelp of surprise, the way young clan members always did whenever they first met him or any member of the Kim family.

She gulped visibly, her trembling hands clasped before her.

“The manor is spotless. How long have you and the others been here?”

“A-a few decades, My Lord,” she answered.

He scowled as he raised an eyebrow. He could tell from her posture that the servants had been living in Wildwood Manor since he had left the Main House over forty years ago. She smelled of old furniture, antiques, yet he could also perceive the scents of the food market, the movie theater, and amusement park. Modern life clung to her skin, a tattle-tale sign that they’d been away from the Woodlands too long.

And all for what? To clean and uninhabited mansion in case the future head of Clan Vyr decided to show up?

“Did my father order you to live here?”

“No, My Lord, I volunteered.” She blushed violently, dipping her chin into her chest. “Your sister, Mistress Ji Yong, asked a handful of us to come and maintain the manor in case—”

He silenced her with an upraised hand. He had not seen his little sister in years. She wrote to him often, her letters always arriving via her pet falcon. The bird never waited for him to write back. Donghyun had learned that Ji Yong letters expected no reply. His younger sister, it seemed, also believed his desertion to be a selfish one.

“Thank you for your service. Gather the rest in the main hall.”

The maid bowed and hurried away. Donghyun let out a deep sigh. He glanced around the immense interior before fishing his cell phone out of his pocket and speed dialing Minwoo.

“Minwoo-ah, where are you?”

“Oh, hyung! I’m out with—Noona! Emma noona!”

Donghyun winced at a loud crash on the other end of the line. He stared at the phone in his hand before holding it back against his ear, demanding to know what had just happened.

“Minwoo-ah? No Minwoo! What’s going on?”

“Hyung!” Minwoo returned after a while. “Hyung we have a big problem! Emma noona just passed out! I’ll take her back home. Hyung, I’ll call you back!”

The line went dead before Donghyun could say anything more. Cursing, he called Hyunseong.

“Hyunseong, where are you?”

“Out on patrol. Hyung, what’s wrong? You sound—”

“Get the kids. Get the kids and Emma and come to Wildwood Manor, right now.”

“To—Where? Hyung, did you just say Wildwood Manor?”

“Don’t ask questions just hurry.”

Hanging up, Donghyun made his way to the main hall where the servants were gathered. The hushed whispers they’d been talking in ceased at the sight of their intimidating Ancient. Donghyun, alarmed and worried, had almost forgotten that he’d requested to see them. The sight of them halted him, their bows and auras much too suffocating.

“Master, I gathered everyone just as you requested,” the round-cheeked maid said, eagerly awaiting praise.

“Yes, good job. You, come stand beside me.”

The round-cheeked maid pointed a disbelieving finger to herself. “M-me?”

“Yes, you. Hurry.”

Yelping, she rushed to obey him. The rest of the staff exchanged nervous looks, afraid of the cackling energy that surrounded their alpha. Donghyun made eye contact with each of them, hating his position all while knowing that there was no way out of it.

“Thank you all for your service. As of this moment you are all dismissed. Go back to the Woodlands.”

“S-sir?”

“You heard me,” he growled. “Back to the Woodlands, all of you.”

They murmured uneasily amongst themselves, exchanging confused glances. Donghyun growled loudly, his face half-shifting in the process, the sight terrifying enough to hush them all.

“All of you, leave, now.” When they still didn’t move, Donghyun growled yet again. “ _Leave!_ ”

The servants ran for their lives. When the round-cheeked maid attempted to follow them, Donghyun caught her by the arm. “Not you. You’re staying.”

“M-My Lord?”

“Which room has the most windows? Where is it?”

She stared at him blankly. Donghyun bared his teeth, yelling “Where is it?”

“A-ah! Y-yes! T-this way!”

* * *

When Emma came too, she found herself in one of the metal boxes they called cars. Hyunseong was driving and everywhere she looked she saw ancient, beautiful trees. Disoriented, and a bit more than frightened at the sound of the engine, Emma held onto the sides of her seat.

Hyunseong caught sight of her movement and sighed with relief. “You’re awake, thank the stars.”

“H-Hyunnie, where are we going? Where is everyone else?”

“The kids are following behind in a different car. We’re on our way to Wildwood Manor.”

Emma had been looking behind them trying to catch a glimpse of the younger pack members when Hyunseong had said this. When she turned around, she pulled a nerve on her neck from how quickly she’d moved. She pressed a hand to the burning ache.

“W-what? W-Wildwood Manor?”

“Mm. Donghyun-hyung called me earlier. He told me to bring everyone.”

Emma gasped. She looked around her again then turned to Hyunseong. “Hyunnie, how fast can this thing go?”

“Pretty fast, but I’m not supposed to drive at full speed. It’s dangerous.” He smiled at Emma, sparing her a glance. “We’re almost there anyway.”

The sight of Wildwood Manor brought a wave of relief to Emma’s jittery nerves. She’d managed to assimilate to the modern world, somewhat, but she had not forgotten the solid comfort of the ancient buildings of their kind. She exited the accursed metal box as it slowed down before the great iron gates. Running ahead with excitement, she ignored Hyunseong’s protests that she must remain within the vehicle.

Emma reached for the iron bars, sensing the protective spells that secured the hidden dwelling. A happy thrill ran through her entire body. The enchantments had been slightly weakened by age. She made a note to strengthen them as soon as she found the opportunity.

Car doors slammed shut behind her. Emma turned to find the awestruck faces of the younger wolves; only Hyunseong remained unimpressed.

“What is this place?” Jeongmin inquired, stepping forward to look beyond the gaps of the potent gate.

“Wildwood Manor,” Emma said, hopping excitedly from one foot to the other, her hands on her gently flushed cheeks.

She’d heard of the magnificence of the manor. The antique furniture, the ancient, valuable works of art, the grand chandeliers, the wonderful mosaic floors, groomed gardens, Emma had heard of them all!

During her childhood, Lord Kim Soo Hyun had invited her family to spend a season in Wildwood Manor. Her mother and father had politely declined the offer due to her people’s natural disposition. They neither felt the need or desire to leave the comfort of their own home in the Plains. Emma’s own desire had been to visit the manor, but her mother had requested that she attend the academy. She’d lot the opportunity then.

She never imagined that she would ever set foot on that wonderful place. And yet, here she was, standing just outside its gates, its luscious lawns spreading before her.

Hyunseong placed his arm around her shoulders, gazing at the old building. “Donghyun-hyung will have a lot of explaining to do.”

“I’m glad I can miss out on that lecture!”

Without waiting for an invitation to proceed or bothering to knock, Emma pushed on the gates. Her Ancient blood moved them aside. There was a tinge of resistance, after all, she was neither the mistress of the manor or a Woodland creature, but the gates moved nonetheless, opening the path to the mystical place.

A thrilled squeal from Emma made the boys jump. She didn’t wait for them, didn’t give them a second thought as she slipped out of her shoes, scooped them up in one hand, her skirts crumpled up in the other, and dashed through the grass.

“Noona!” Hyunseong called after her, startled that she would barge into and unknown property like that. They rushed in after her, worried that someone or something might attack her.

There were no such worries present in Emma’s mind. Away from the cacophony of the urban life the land sang to her soul. The grass reached up to welcome her feet, the sky exploded into something vast and blue, the wind caressed her face.

The wind! Nature! Oh, how she had missed it!

Lifting her arms above her head, she released a melodious laugh, a tickle of joyous giggles. The boys could certainly catch up to her, could outrun her, could stop her jubilant prance, but they could not pull her down. They could not pluck her from the air as she reached into the depths of her being and became one with the wind.

She shot up without warning, a lovely figure clad in pale blue leaping to meet the vast sapphire heavens. Emma raised her arms, wrists flicking delicately as she proceeded with her exquisite dance. She released her secure grip on her shoes, giggling mischievously as one fell on Jeongmin’s head.

The wind swirled around, beckoning her. Her braid came undone, the lament of lacking her traditional dress dimmed by the invitation of Brother Wind. Emma rose higher. The currents guiding her in an intimate embrace.

Oh, how she missed the Plains!

This wind belonged to the Woodlands. She could sense it in its touch, the feel of tree bark and leaves on her skin. It was not sharp, strong, cutting, or unadulterated like the wind of the Plains.

Emma had never danced in Woodland winds, had never embraced another breeze that she had not been familiar with since her long ago experienced childhood. Neither had this Woodland wind ever been joined in its dance by any creature. It had ran alongside the Creatures of the Woodlands, had sang with them, carried their howling voices through the night, but never had it been joined in its dance high above the ground by them. The novelty of the encounter elated them.

Down below, the wolves had ceased in their pursuit. They stood still, watching, entranced by the glorious dance. They had never witnessed such a spectacle, never imagined they’d witness such wild beauty.

If they had been instructed in the ways of the Creatures properly, they would have been attuned to the call of the woods, the whispering songs of nature. But even Hyunseong, who had spent his first decade as a Woodland Creature in the proximity of the fourth House of Vyr, now failed to recognize the calls to his soul.

The Woods yearned for the pack. The trees swayed, reaching towards the boys, their branches creaking as they stretched. Whispered greetings of welcome, intimate invitations were carried to them by the leaves that the wind detached from the eager trees. They swirled around the boys, tugging at their clothes, shifting their carefully styled hair.

Jeongmin carefully plucked the leaves from his hair. Minwoo rubbed his eyes, feeling the moist particles of the woods’ earth trapped between his eyelashes. The twins stood still, a little awkward. Hyunseong called out to Emma, worried that the wind would blow her leagues away from them.

The Creatures were deaf. They were deaf and ignorant to the land they truly belonged to. Later, after her decent from her wild wind dance, Emma would find their indifferent expressions, the leaves scurrying around their feet in sad resignation. Her heart would break, her anger would flare and she would yet again argue with Donghyun.

And yet it was only Donghyun, who had heard his pack members’ voices and watched from the top of the front steps, the one that felt the pull of the woods. He heard the voices of the trees, tasted the moist soil in his nostrils and tongue.

A violent shiver shook his body, a tingle of supernatural force made his skin itch. His instincts told him to shift, urged him to run, to fly into the shelter of his land. Underneath his flesh, his being fought for release. The woods sensed him, just as he sensed it. They yearned for one another.

Donghyun’s soul burned as he resisted. Focusing on his pack members made his face burn with shame. Their neutral faces, closed ears, the lack of connection with the woods, with their nature plagued the Ancient. The sight of the Woods, so lonely, so desolate, made him want to cry and double over in pain.

Too many emotions, too many memories overwhelmed him. The weight of his long life stole the oxygen from his lungs. The wind carried his grieving whimper to the Woods. The trees swayed in rapid fury, protesting his desertion, grieving his betrayal.

The Ancient of the Woodlands took a step forward, reaching for them, then another, slowly. His brow furrowed, a darkness clouded his sapphire eyes, spreading across his handsome features and contorting them. He squeezed his eyes shut, turning his face away.

The wind’s soft currents changed, howling in opposition. Donghyun gasped for air. With one last aching look at his deserted home, he turned on his heel and disappeared within Woodland Manor.

He had made a vow. Kim Donghyun couldn’t go back on his word now. 


	17. From the Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is for TARDISpieandmore for waiting patiently for each chapter. Thank you!

Donghyun closed the door behind him, Emma’s argumentative shouts penetrated the deep wood. He felt her tug at the handles; he gripped them tighter, trapping her within her bedroom. He spotted the round-cheeked maid staring with wide-eyed terror. Donghyun motioned for her to come closer.

“Our guest is the first-born daughter of House of Vogel, Emma Vann. She’s got a wild temper on her, but as long as you’re respectful, there should be no problems.”

“S-sir?”

He took her hands, placing them on the doorknobs. He offered her a tiny, almost sympathetic smile. “I’ll leave her in your care. Thank you.”

“W-wait! My Lord!”

Emma pulled the door open. The unsuspecting maid flew into the room. Donghyun walked away, the sound of a vicious collision behind him. It took a great amount of effort not to laugh.

“What’s so amusing?” Minwoo asked, sneaking up beside him.

Donghyun’s step faltered. Minwoo stared in shock. No one ever surprised their alpha, never startled him out of his careful, graceful walk. But Donghyun, with a heart full of longing and a mind heavy with duty, had been too caught up in his thoughts to detect his presence.

“Oh, Minwoo-ah, what are you doing here? Where are the others?”

“In the game room. They couldn’t find their rooms. Hyung, what exactly is this place?”

Donghyun sighed deeply. For decades he had pushed this moment to the back of his mind, hoping that it would never arrive. Emma’s arrival had indicated the end of this prolonged wait. Nothing would come of resisting her even when he wanted to. He’d kept them all in the dark for too long.

“Let’s meet with the others. I’ll explain things then.”

The pack members loitered around in the game room, inspecting every artifact within. Jeongmin analyzed the paintings on the walls. The twins stood by the pool table, cue sticks in hand, curious eyes darting about.

Only Hyunseong sat motionless, face drawn in tight contemplation; it was almost as if he were just about to grasp a long forgotten memory, something that he knew existed deep within his mind and escaped him just as his fingertips brushed it. His ears twitched when Donghyun entered the room. He jumped to his feet, rushing to meet him.

“Hyung, what’s going on? How did you manage to get inside Wildwood Manor? Does the First House know? Did they allow this? Hyung? Hyung!”

Hyunseong trailed after Donghyun, alarmed and nervous. Donghyun stopped walking long enough to silence him. The rest crowed around, expectant, unsure.

“What I am about to tell you must never leave this room. I’m sure it will come as a great shock,” he placed a hand on Hyunseong’s shoulder, “even to you, Hyunseong.”

He made eye contact with all of them once more. “Listen.”

* * *

Kim Donghyun was the firstborn son of Clan Kim, the ruling clan of House Vyr. His father Kim Soo Hyun had ruled over the Woodlands for nearly a millennia. A respected official and model leader, he had raised his son under strict discipline, ingraining in him the ways of their people.

During the first couple of centuries that composed his childhood, Donghyun had studied under the careful, militaristic tutelage of his father. In his adolescence, he’d accomplished astounding feats that had placed him in the Summit’s favor.

It wasn’t until he reached early adulthood that Donghyun started to question his father’s decisions.

It all began with the Massacre of Black Leaf Wood.

A group of Turned wolves had gone rouge, raiding villages and recklessly turning innocent humans. Donghyun had led the pack that had been sent out to stop them. He knew the rogues would be executed; he had not expected his father to order the newly Turned wolves’ death.

“Father! You cannot sentence them all to death! They’re innocents!”

“Some may very well be, but among the innocent, reside the liars, the greedy, the power thirsty. I will not risk the security and structure of our world for the sake of these Turned.”

“They have done nothing wrong!”

“They are an abomination to the world!” Kim Soo Hyun slammed his hands on the table, crumpling the tactical maps they’d been pouring over a few minutes before. “The Summit outlawed the act of Turning. Any and every new Turned is a danger to our entire world and to the humans.”

“Father.”

“General, proceed with the plan.”

“Father!”

“If you cannot understand this, you will never be a good leader! Sacrifices must be made to maintain the order of our world.”

Donghyun had his doubts, but he followed his father’s, his alpha’s, command. Surely he did it for the best of the Woodlands. Surely.

But he had been wrong.

The morning after the order had been carried out, Donghyun realized that it had been nothing more than a massacre, cruel and simple. He could see the obvious traces of prejudice and hatred in how their throats had been gnawed out, their bodies left out to rot. The Woods had cried in horrified grief; Donghyun had wept as he held the torn body of a five-year-old boy.

He left his father, left his land, left his people. He left them to seek out the rogues.

“What will you do, Donghyun? You think you can handle this on your own?”

“Yes. I will handle this on my own if I must. I will not allow you to drown the Woodlands with the blood of our own people.”

“They are not our people. If you leave, no one will help you.”

“I will help myself.”

For the first few months after his desertion, true to his father’s words, no one had helped. He had chased after his father’s pack, always a step behind, always a day or two behind the rogues.

It angered him. The sight of lifeless bodies bathed in blood made him angry and sick. Donghyun had almost given up hope. What could he do? A lone wolf out in a war between rogues and generals?

And then he found Minwoo.

A child of no more than twelve, buried underneath the bloodied corpses whimpered, reached out for Donghyun. How or why he had survived, they would never know; his eyes were wide with fright but very much alive. They had given Donghyun the strength that he had needed.

Minwoo had not spoken for the first few weeks. He’d trailed after Donghyun or rode on his back, silent. Donghyun could not begin to imagine what little Minwoo was going through. A tirade of sensations assaulting him, a new hunger for meat, and the inexplicable desire to run off into the woods and never return.

Donghyun had no idea how to help, so he had gone in search of the last Turned, the one that had been allowed by the Summit.

He’d found Hyunseong in the Fourth House of Vyr under the careful and kind tutelage of Clan Shim. Hyunseong had sensed them long before they approached, his nose upturned, sensing the young blood coursing through Minwoo’s veins.

Hyunseong was still young, perhaps a few decades old. He followed them into the forest, cautious and curious. His senses were alert against Minwoo, submissive before Donghyun. “Who is he?”

“An innocent, like you.” Donghyun offered his hand. “Come with me. I need you.”

And because Donghyun was born an Alpha, because Hyunseong had at one point been just like Minwoo, he followed him.

Hyunseong, though young, had proven to be quite a wonderful Wolf. Once he caught scent of the rogues, he never lost them. At one point, he’d managed to get them ahead of his father’s troops just long enough to sneak out the youngest. Jeongmin. The twins.

Once Donghyun had them in his sight, he did not lose them. He left Hyunseong with the cubs.

“Stay here. The Woods will protect you. Do not leave until I return. If I don’t return within three moon cycles, leave this place. Run to the Plains. I know you have a friend there.”

“Family,” Hyunseong had said, a deep fire in his eyes.

“Family,” Donghyun nodded. He motioned to the children huddled in a wolfish ball behind them. “They are your family. Protect them with your life.”

What he did during those three moon cycles, Donghyun would never forget, nor would he retell. His being could not handle the loss of so many, could not understand why he would raise his claws, bare his fangs against his own people. His hair turned red. A reminder of his brutality towards those that failed to cooperate.

He’d retuned with three dozen Turned. More than he’d expected, less than he’d hoped. Hyunseong, by this time, had trained the boys well and rigorously. They could shift at will, run further and longer than any of their ironically older yet younger counterparts. Minwoo’s talent surpassed the others’. He would have been the best, save that the others’ age worked in their favor.

The difference was minimal, but it was there. Donghyun felt a slightly sorrowful at this tragic outcome. Minwoo would have been a grand general in his father’s army if the circumstances had been different.

All the boys had makings of Alpha in them. So, after searching for a safe, deserted area, Donghyun established his pack. They cleared the area with the authorization and forgiveness of the Woods.

His city grew, humans trickled in eventually. He and the boys would venture out in search for more Turned, saved those that they could, and gave them a home, a life. Eventually, the rogues were annihilated by Kim Soo Hyun.

Then came the decades of peace. The decades in which Donghyun had worked diligently to find a way to save them all from his father’s clutches.

He knew that it was only because Ancient Kim Soo Hyun had a vast amount of love and patience with him that he had allowed him to defy him for so long. Donghyun also knew that they were living on borrowed time. His pack would cease to exist the moment his father passed judgement on them.

And now, with the Witch on the loose, Donghyun felt the pressing weight of Death at his door.

* * *

Hyunseong stared at Donghyun with wide eyes. The others had heard, understood, but they did not comprehend the gravity of Donghyun’s crime or his lineage.

“Hyung,” Hyunseong choked. “S-sir.”

“Don’t. Hyunseong-ah, don’t.”

Hyunseong swallowed. Donghyun could not decide if he looked at him with fear, shock, or admiration. He felt so far from them now. His origins did that; they separated him from those around him, marked him as different. As much as Donghyun hated it, he was different. And it was because of this difference that he was able to protect them.

“Is this what Emma noona could not tell us?” Minwoo inquired. “She couldn’t tell us you were this…prince person?”

Donghyun sighed, smiling. Minwoo’s dismissiveness had made the air easier to breathe. “It’s not her place to do so.”

“Now that you’ve told us,” Minwoo went on, a jittery eagerness creeping into his words. “Now that we know, can she talk to us about everything?”

He nodded. Minwoo grinned, the most wolfish grin any of them had ever seen in bear. He gave Donghyun a single pat on the shoulder as he ran past him, bolting out the door, shouting “Noona!” as he went.

Jeongmin and the twins exchanged glances. Jeongmin shrugged, settling comfortably in one of the large armchairs.

“I can’t say I understand any of this Ancients and Houses and Clans business. Quite honestly, I don’t care. Our problem is the Witch. And if Donghyun hyung’s old man wants to come after us, then we will get to him when he gets here.”

“You shouldn’t speak like that,” Hyunseong cautioned.

“He’ll be fine,” Donghyun said. “He grew up much too far away from the Woodlands and the Summit’s strict scrutiny.”

“The _Summit_. Hyung, you were meant to be part of the Summit.”

“Hyunseong, that really should be the last of your concerns.”

“It should be the greatest part of yours, hyung.”

Jeongmin frowned. “You two can discuss politics later. Right now, we have a Witch to hunt.”

The twins grinned ferociously. “Do we get new abilities? Are we here to train and become stronger?”

Hyunseong looked at Donghyun. He returned their ferocious grin.

“Yes, you do.”

* * *

Minwoo burst through Emma’s bedroom doors, startling the maid that had been arranging a beautiful bouquet of blue and pink and purple flowers in a large vase. It teetered off the edge of the table. Minwoo watched as she caught it, faster than he would have ever believed possible.

“How did you do that?”

“Sir?” the maid addressed him formally, but she kept her eyes on him. Something about the way she looked at him made him feel angry.

Suddenly, he really hated Donghyun. Hated him for denying him a power that belonged to him. It might not have been granted to him by licit means, but it belonged to him nonetheless. He growled at the maid.

The force of his power as an Alpha struck her. She fell on her knee, head bowed. Clearly, she had underestimated the kind of creatures that her Lord kept for company.

Emma, who sat on the windowsill, her legs dangling off the ledge, calling up the winds to play with her hair, to dance with her skirts and the long white curtains, laughed.

“Did you think your Lord kept mutts for company? How foolish of you.”

Minwoo detected the ire in her voice, the anger at having been locked up with an entire world full of magic just outside.

He strode over, took her hands in his, held them tight. His eyes bore into hers, bright, alive, and powerful.

“ _Teach me._ ”

“ _Gladly._ ”

They grinned, quite wickedly, quite prepared to catch themselves a damned Witch.

* * *

Youngil lay crumpled in her makeshift bed. Her tunnel smelled of dead rats, of decay, of sin and murder. She buried herself deeper into her dirty sheets, sobbing dry sobs into her pillow. Youngil, such a pitiful creature, failed to sense them approaching.

“What a disgusting smell.”

She jumped up, throwing a blast of energy. They growled in return, dodging, tackling. Youngil landed on the dirty, cold concrete. Two grown men restrained her, baring their teeth at her through their half-shifted snouts.

“Oh, Youngil, is this what you have become?” he said.

His voice chilled her, reached into her chest, gripped her heart and pulverized it. Her blood dried up, her skin tightened and cracked at the sound of it. Youngil wanted to run away.

The Witch was scared.

He paced her shelter, looking around, seemingly indifferent. He ran his finger along a wall. “I heard you failed to kill Kim Donghyun and his pack of mutts.”

“I-I almost had him.”

“Almost is not good enough.”

“I-I had to run. S-she-she found me!”

He stopped. “She?”

“That woman. That Ancient from the Plains. His sister.”

“His…sister… Two Ancients in the same place? _Two_.”

Youngil didn’t like the way he said that, so contemplative, as if he had an entire empire before him waiting to be conquered. He licked his lips, smacking his hands together in a loud clap.

“Do you know what this means, Youngil? It means you’re still useful to us.”

“P-please, I don’t w-want to—”

He took her by the hair, pulling her head so far back her neck nearly cracked. His eyes gleamed red, crazed. “I don’t care what you want. You’re doing as I say.”

Her head bounced wildly as he tossed it aside. She closed her eyes, listening to his awful words, feeling his footfalls on her soul. He walked all over her. Always. Forever. She would never escape him.

Once, just once, she had had the chance to. The one that could have saved her was now dead, murdered by her own hands. Her own foolish, stupid, abused hands.

“Youngil, do you know why Ancients are so stupid?”

He kicked her when she didn’t answer fast enough. Youngil coughed, holding her stomach.

“They’re stupid,” he went on as if her cough had been encouragement enough (because to him it was), “because they’re ancient. Do you understand? They are so old, they do not know anything new. So stuck in their traditions. Tsk, tsk, tsk. All that power in the hands of old _bores_. So, you are going to do what you do best, Youngil.”

She didn’t want to. Not anymore.

He had promised her glory, riches, power. All she had obtained thus far was nothing but loneliness, a broken heart, a vacant soul, and a fractured mind. His ghost would not leave her alone. Kim Donghyun’s voice continued to resonate within her; soothing, ever so soothing.

He wrapped his hand around her hair, pulling her to her feet. “You, little Witch, are going to go kill me a mutt.”

Youngil swallowed.

“Tonight.”

His grip tightened, lips twitching.

“Yes, master.”

“Good.”

She staggered away, healing herself; the Magic still felt clumsy in her hands.

“Oh, and Youngil,” he called her back. “Make sure it’s brutally bloody, okay?”

Tears burned her eyes. She blinked them back. “Yes, master.”

“What a good girl. Now, be quick. But not too quick.”

Youngil ran. She ran, ran, ran, ran, and ran. She ran until she was back within the city. Pedestrians gave her a curious look. She probably looked filthy, smelled even worse.

On impulse, she headed over to the Alphas’ den. She knew it was empty from the lack of sound, the stale scent of their skins. Of course they wouldn’t be there. Of course Donghyun would have moved them.

“Donghyun-ah,” she whimpered. “I miss you.”

“Miss? Are you alright?”

Youngil spun around. A young boy approached her, his eyes worried. She had no way of knowing if he was a wolf, not without giving herself away.

But he was waiting. And she was scared.

She reached for that foreign Magic dwelling within her. Every time she touched it, she died a little for so many reasons. For her crime, for her continuing sins.

The boy’s eyes widened as he felt the Magic’s hostile touch. He bared his teeth, growled. Youngil held him tight. Her threads cut deep into his flesh.

“You will pay for this, Witch!”

Yes, she would.

Youngil killed him. She killed him unceremoniously, without mercy or compassion.

“Come find me,” she whispered. Then she looked up into the night sky, shouting, “COME FIND ME DONGHYUN! I DARE YOU!”

_Look at you, Youngil-ah_ , he said from deep within her mind. _Look at what a murderer you’ve become_.

She ignored him. She had more mutts to kill.


	18. Lessons Learned

Dark blood soaked the rain drenched sidewalk. Whatever evidence had existed the storm had washed it away, down into the sewers. Emma stood by Donghyun’s side, assessing the situation from behind the yellow police tape. A small crowd had gathered. Humans, all wanting to catch a glimpse of the body underneath the white sheet.

Jeongmin, Hyunseong, and Minwoo secured a perimeter. Youngmin held Kwangmin’s hand, comforting him. On Kwangmin’s wrist was their pack’s tattoo and sign; a beautiful pair of letters, BF, written in Old English calligraphy. It matched the sad, blood smeared tattoo on the victim’s own wrist.

He had been one of his.

“How did we miss her?” Donghyun asked.

“She held her power in,” Emma replied, her throat dry. “She waited until the last possible moment, unleashed it all in a single blow.”

“Can you track her?”

Emma bowed her head. “No. It was a quick spell, too brief and fast to leave a trace.”

“Are you really of House Vogel?”

“Excuse you,” she hissed. “That’s my brother’s Magic she is using. Do you understand that? She stole the Firstborn Son of House Vogel’s Magic, does that not make sense to you?”

Donghyun’s upper lip curled, his sharp incisors threatening. Emma, however, simply looked away, crossing her arms to shield herself from the chilled wind. The threat that a Witch may be nearby kept her from using Magic to warm herself.

“Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t find her. Not like this. The trace ends here. This is what makes witches so damn obnoxious; sooner or later they learn how to hide the stolen Magic underneath their human nature.”

Donghyun took a step closer to her, his wolfish heat warming her instantly. He did not oppose when she linked her arm through his, pressing her body against his. Her shivers subsided slowly.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

Emma looked up at him, her eyes softening. “You’re under a lot of stress. It’s understandable.”

Kwangmin appeared beside them quietly. His features were tight, cold. Something in his eyes had died. Emma hated it.

“Hyung, we should get out of here.”

Before Donghyun could reply, Emma had ripped herself away from him, bolting. Startled, they chased after her, sensing the urgency.

“I’ll kill that witch,” Kwangmin growled. “ _I’ll kill her!_ ”

Desperation coursed through Emma’s veins. She had a trace. Granted, it was a very faint trace, but she had it. If she could find her, cursing her would be so very easy. She just had to find her, get her within her sight.

Woodland creatures were fast, but the dwellers of the Plains lived for the vast expanse of land where they could run for miles and miles without stopping. Donghyun had a hard time keeping up with Emma without using his powers. She ran, jumped, dodged; nothing would get between her and the Witch.

She was just around the corner, tucked inside the alley.

Emma’s hands began to glow a pale blue. Donghyun’s claws exploded into existence, his features half-shifted.

They rounded the corner and came face to face with Jeongmin. He dodged Emma’s rushing body, sidestepping Donghyun. He pressed himself against the wall, wincing as he heard the bricks cracking against the inhuman collision.

“Shit,” he said.

Minwoo rose from his crouch beside a dark form on the ground. Hyunseong stood a ways off, his fists clenched, trembling.

“Minwoo-ah?”

He looked at Donghyun, shaking his head. Donghyun sighed, deeply, heavily, the entire weight of his long life upon him. “Let’s go. We can’t get involved with the police.”

“You mean to just leave her here?” Hyunseong snapped. “Would you do the same if she’d been one of yours?”

Emma raised her hand. “She’s here.”

They tensed up. Kwangmin, having arrived after Donghyun and before Yougmin, sniffed the air. Rain, pollution, humans, blood, sweat, death. No Witch. Some other time, he would have trusted his nose far more than he did now. Emma’s arrival had shown them many things, including the fact that scents could be concealed or changed.

“I can’t smell her.”

“I can’t see her.”

“I can’t sense her.”

Emma listened to their confusion. If she didn’t move, Emma could not find her. Her brother’s Magic felt so close, so angry. She wanted to reclaim what had been stolen from him, from her, from their family and their people. 

“Give me back my brother, you Witch!”

Emma jumped, landing with powerful lithe feet on a rooftop. She pressed her hands together, her eyes exploded with pale blue light. Her lips formed quick, unknown words.

“Hyung, what is she doing?” Jeongmin braced himself against the sudden wind that had picked up, shielding his eyes with his arms.

“Noona!” Minwoo shouted, his words lost, kidnapped by the wind.

“Emma noona!” Hyunseong tried to reach her. An invisible barrier knocked him down.

“Dammit, Emma!”

Donghyun jumped, swallowed by the expanding orb of light that hung above them. He broke through her defenses, grabbed her wrists, forcing her hands apart. Interrupted, the spell disappeared with the sudden death of the wind.

“What are you doing?” Emma shouted. “I almost had her!”

“Can you hear that?” Donghyun gave her a rough shake. “Those are police sirens. Human authorities. If they get involved in this mess, we’re all done for.”

“What do I c—”

Donghyun pressed his hand against her mouth, his eyes flaring. “Don’t you dare. This is _my_ domain. I’m the Alpha here, the House Head. You follow my orders, Emma Vogel or I swear I will send you back to where you came from.”

Minwoo called from below, “Hyung! The cops!”

“Rooftops. Now!”

The pack leapt, landing several buildings ahead of the Ancients. Donghyun’s unforgiving eyes returned to Emma. “She’s not here. You know that.”

Emma did, in fact, know that the Witch had not been present. She looked away. Donghyun released her, turning away.

“Keep up.”

She hesitated only briefly before following him. She hated it, the sight of his back leaving her behind.

* * *

The night had grown old, the wind surrounding the edge of the woods was cold. Emma walked the tree line, kicking the grass. She hugged herself, shivering violently. She’d stormed out of the mansion after another argument with Donghyun without a coat. She could conjure up a warming spell, but she really didn’t feel like it.

Emma was hurt. She was hurt by everything life had thrown her way in the past decade. To a Creature of Wonder, a decade was nothing. Unless the past decade included losing your only brother to a Witch.

Damn, it hurt. It hurt so bad she could hardly breathe from the pain within her chest. His absence ached. Emma had never felt such vicious pain.

Vyse had been her most trusted confidant, her best friend. They’d been on so many adventures together, discovered so many new things, about themselves and others. They’d been out to change their world! With Vyse heading for the Summit and Emma directing her sights to vaster lands, never ending Plains.

Young and full of life, that’s how they had been, the Vann siblings.

Until that Witch had come along. Until Vyse had died—had been murdered.

The tears streaming down her face were cold like the rest of her. She took a step, her foot caught on a root, she fell onto her knees, her hands out before her to break her fall. Emma stayed there, sobbing at the edge of forest.

The trees murmured consoling sounds, words that she could not quite hear through her sobs. Emma’s arms failed her. She crumpled onto the ground, the dead grass and year old foliage scratching her face.

She screamed into the wind. She screamed for her brother. Screamed and screamed and screamed. The wind, ever her ally, carried her screams away, protecting her pain, guarding her grief.

Emma didn’t notice that Donghyun watched over her. He’d followed her soon after she’d stormed out, her coat in his hands. He’d heard her first sob, witnessed her pain. A knot tightened his throat. He wanted to go to her, wrap her in his arms, to warm her shivering body.

Instead, he respected her privacy to grieve. He took a step back, losing his breath at the urging force of the Woods. Placing his hand on the nearest tree, he sighed.

Soon, he promised.

* * *

The cold eventually made Emma gather her bearings. She stood on shaky legs, gazing at her surroundings. The moon had dipped, indicating dawn’s impending arrival. With unsteady steps, she directed her body to the manor.

Emma looked up and spotted someone on the rooftop. Without much thought, she decided to go and see who it was.

The last person Emma expected to find sulking on the rooftop was Jo Kwangmin. She thought that she might have encountered Donghyun. In fact, that’s why she had ventured up here to begin with. She had been yearning to see him. Seeing the tall, lanky outline of the second twin really surprised her. Still, it made sense to find him here.

She noticed the mourning tension on his shoulders, the grimly dipped head. Her heart broke. With careful steps, she approached the seemingly inconsolable man. Emma sat beside him on the ledge, her feet dangling higher than his. Kwangmin had not yet noticed her presence; he was that deep in thought.

Emma waited patiently, hoping that he wouldn’t startle into awareness and fall those frightening feet down.

“They say,” Kwangmin began unexpectedly, his voice just above a whisper. Breathlessly, Emma waited for him to continue. After a pause filled only by the soft wind, he continued.

“They say that when a loved one dies, you feel it. Even if you’re thousands of miles away, you feel when something bad happens to them…”

Turning to the fading night sky, the twinkling stars blinking tenderly. Emma bit her lip, gnawing on it until the tightness in her throat lessened.

“Human say that, Kwangmin-ah.”

“Noonim,” he turned his head sharply, “you don’t believe we can tell when one of ours is injured, dying, or…or…?”

Emma smiled sadly, placing her hand over his. She shook her head gently. “No, Kwangmin-ah, I don’t believe we can. I think it is a lie humans made up to make each other feel closer, to strengthen their bonds.”

A torrent of expressions crossed the younger twin’s features. First there was shock, disbelief, then hot anger quickly cooled, opposition, rebelliousness, and finally calm acceptance. Emma wondered how someone’s emotions could display themselves so thoroughly on their face and so quickly.

Kwangmin sighed, tilting his head upward to the heavens with closed eyes. An invisible weight abandoned his shoulders. He turned his hand over, tenderly taking a hold of hers.

“That’s a relief.”

Emma watched silently as a large, fat tear rolled down his cheek. She reached over, wiping the sadness away with gentle fingers.

“Kwangmin-ah.”

His Adam’s apple bobbed sharply as he swallowed the knot in his throat, it shifted enough to allow him to speak.

“She was one of mine,” he whispered.

Emma did not have to ask whom he meant. She knew that she had been his, just as she knew that the second victim had been Hyunseong’s, and the third Minwoo’s. He was mourning their pack members, their friends, his Champion.

“I was so afraid,” he continued, “I was so afraid of losing them, any of them! I thought I would know…I thought that the moment one of them was in danger I would feel it, sense it, know it in some way. But I didn’t feel anything. Nothing. I thought since we had built psychic bridges before, some trace of him would still alert me. But nothing did. He died, alone and scared. We didn’t even know.

Emma sucked on her lower lip as the boy talked, constantly pushing down the tightness in her throat, steadying her aching heart. Her eyes felt heavy, already swollen from before.

“Kwangmin-ah,” she brushed another set of tears from his youthful face. “Even though we are supernatural creatures, even though we are much different from humans and possess many more skills, we’re just like them. We can’t predict the future, we can’t change the past, and we can’t cheat death. Kwangmin, when it comes for one ours,” she paused, swallowing hard.

“When it happens, it’s impossible to know. There is no way for us to sense anything.”

“Not even your people? Minwoo says your people are special. He says you can do things no other race of Creatures can.”

She smiled sadly. “Who told Minwoo all those things?”

“A book.”

“Then maybe you should read more.” She patted his cheek affectionately.

“Then you can do it?”

Emma shook her head. “No, Kwangmin-ah, my people can do many things but we cannot do that. When we lose someone, the pain and grief are as sudden to us as they are to humans. As it is to you.”

She blinked back a torrent of tears that pushed against the brim of her eyes. Kwangmin’s pain hurt. His swollen eyes, runny nose, often trembling lips hurt. His brokenness hurt. Sitting beside him, unable to console him, hurt. He was not one of hers, not by blood or race, but he was.

Emma knew exactly what he felt. In the handful of weeks that she had spent with the werewolves, they had patted their way into her heart. Over the sleepy breakfast table and the loud late night snacks, Emma had learned of these boys. She had spent as much time with them as she had with Hyunseong in the past.

She wanted them to be happy and safe. Suddenly, tears were pouring down her cheeks. Emma pressed her hands to her face, hiding her unappealing weakness from Kwangmin.

“N-noonim!”

“I-I’m sorry. I-I’ll s-stop in a b-bit.”

Her sobs wrecked her body so much, Kwangmin feared that she’d fall off the ledge. Hurriedly, he scooped her into his arms. He found Donghyun at the stairs, his eyes heavy with dark circles. He looked frightening.

“Hyung.”

Slightly, Donghyun raised his hands. Kwangmin instantly handed Emma over to him. Donghyun held her close; Emma instantly wrapped her arms around his neck, crying against his shoulder.

“Get some sleep, Kwangmin-ah. We have a long road ahead of us.”

He understood what he meant, somewhat. 


End file.
